Reluctant Attachment
by Uncle RJ Kitten
Summary: "Anyone can be your family, if you love them enough." A story how a scarred man somehow got the attention of a certain blonde girl, and gained something he had previously wished for: family. Modern AU, OC-Centric
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_Hjartað Hamast__  
__Eins__og alltaf__  
En __nú úr takt við tímann__  
__Týndur og gleymdur heima hjá mér_

"_Hjartað Hamast __(__Bamm Bamm Bamm__) – __Ágætis Byrjun__"_

"We'll leave it at that, class dismissed."

"Please tell me you bring extra lunch, Astrid," a blonde girl pleads to another blonde girl beside her as they gather up their stuff before exiting the class. The second blonde girl rolls her blue eyes.

"You stay up all night and missed both dinner and breakfast to finish your homework, _again_?" she questions despite already knowing the answer.

"NO!" the first girl answers a little too quickly, her eyes wide while avoiding eye contact and tries to look not guilty as she could. The second girl sighs while throws an aluminum wrapping of homemade burrito at the first girl.

Astrid and Ruffnut head their way to the cafeteria. The class had just finished, and it is lunchtime before starting the afternoon class. Like what she had said earlier, Ruffnut is very hungry, missing both last night's dinner and today's breakfast to do her homework.

Well, one of them homework, at least.

"So, any plan today?" Ruffnut asks the girl beside her, wiggling her eyebrows pointedly. Astrid sighs for the second time while rolling her eyes.

"Besides hibernating under my blanket for the rest of the day until the next day, no," Astrid answers as she adjusts her bag.

"_Really_?" Ruffnut wiggles her eyebrows more insistently, almost threatening to fall of from her face. "Are you sure you're not going to moan and mas-"

_**SMACK!**_

"I'll take that as a no," Ruffnut rubs the back her throbbing head with a pained grimace as Astrid pushes open the door that leads to the cafeteria. "Your parents are expecting you to find one, so why not please them?"

Astrid's warning growl is mixed with the sound of metal trays clanking onto the tables, and the chattering of students instantly encases them. Ruffnut smiles innocently at her suggestion but decided to give her best friend a little mercy by not pressing on… for the moment.

The two blonde girls walk up to their usual table at the far corner of the cafeteria, right beside the poorly placed only window.

"Where have you two been? We've been waiting here for _hours_."

"Technically, we've been here for only five minutes. If you count the time to get from your, quote end quote, six mile away class, to here, if you ever attend the class, which take only thirty seconds and-"

Tuffnut, the impatient twin brother of Ruffnut, slammed his head onto the table and groaned loudly and impatiently. To rub salt onto the injury, just as he's about to straighten up, Ruffnut slammed his head back onto the table even harder, earning her a loud yowl.

"Guys, hold back your antics for a moment, would you?" Astrid pleads softly as she sits down on an empty bench of the table, specifically for her and a redhead boy.

"Geez, why so grumpy, Hofferson?" Ruffnut questions as she sits down right between her brother and a giant blonde nerd named Fishlegs. "You've been in that mood since you came to school. What's wrong, staining your sheets this morning?"

"Dear God, Ruffnut, can you please censor your mouth more?" Fishlegs requests with very red cheeks, feeling very uncomfortable in his seat over the subject. "You've really need that mouth of yours check."

"Care to volunteer?" Like her mischievous nature, she smooches at his direction teasingly. He blanches and the blush intensifies. Ruffnut snickers at his reaction, secretly liking to bully the poor boy.

"I've been thinking about washing her mouth with soap," Tuffnut suddenly speaks out as he rubs his bruised nose, sparing a glare at Ruffnut for a second. "But last week, I found out that she eats soap for lunch."

"Idiot!" Ruffnut instantly slams his head onto the table once more, harder than before. "You promised not to tell anyone about that!"

"Are you confusing me with your reflection?"

Of course, like what they had been doing ever since they were born, they are rolling on the floor throwing punches and pulling each other's hairs. The others and everyone in the cafeteria ignore the twins like what they have been doing since day one.

Astrid folds her arms on the table and rests her chin on them, with a longing look in her eyes. Fishlegs notices this, and smiles sadly at her.

"Missing Hiccup much?" Astrid merely sighs to respond to Fishlegs' question. "I'm sad to hear he has to move away. This is probably the first time you two are separated, right?"

"Fifteen years attached by the hips…" The twins keep rolling all over the floor. She shakes her head firmly, not wanting to dwell on the thought very long. "Anyway, where's Snotlout?" she asks everyone at the table as she lifts her head from her arms.

"Where else do you think?" one of the twins replies as Ruffnut and Tuffnut finally finished their fight and crawl their way back to their seats.

"He skips school again?"

"Seems like it."

"How did he do that unnoticed?"

"Well hell if I know. Your fish-bone boy is closest to him. I assume you too since he is Hiccup's cousin-in-law."

The cafeteria double doors suddenly swing open, revealing a beefy boy, none other than Snotlout himself.

"Speak of the devil, he _didn't_ skip at all. That's a surprise there." Ignoring the speaker, Snotlout approaches the table and sits down in his seat with a light thump.

"Good afternoon ladies," he greets the group with a wide grin, and the others reply back casually before continue on with their meal.

Things have gone quite casual at the table after they finish their lunch; Snotlout boasting, Fishlegs plants his face into his books, the twins slapping each other, and Astrid pulling her hair in frustration while silently wishing for Hiccup to be around to teach her.

Thing's quite casual.

There is a probably an island full of dragons and dragon riders carried by the wind, hurrying up through the clouds, travelling as far as their eyes can see, and go where no one goes. But that's for another story.

Besides that, yep, pretty casual.

"I'll be heading to the ladies' room." Astrid suddenly stands up from her seat. Ruffnut gives her a knowing look, smiling widely.

"What are you doing there, Astrid? Getting yourself a relie-"

_**SMACK!**_

"It's a no then," she mutters, rubbing her other cheek, slapped by glaring Astrid who has her face in a scowl. The scowling blonde rolls her eyes as she turns away and heads her way to the toilet, shaking her head at Ruffnut's antics. She silently wonders how she became best friends with her.

One of the many things Astrid hates about how the school is built is the placement of the toilets. They are just far away from everything. The closest toilet from the cafeteria is a block away. She mutters her loathe to the people who stupidly builds the school.

She flicks her annoying bangs to the side, and another scowl threatens to surface. She should buy a hairband to solve the problem, but it doesn't really suit her.

As she turns at a corner, she bumps into someone. But due to her tiredness from her parents' endless antics from yesterday afternoon until dawn today, she's a bit cranky and it doesn't really improve her mood. Luckily for her, the person she bumped into saved her by a hand on her right shoulder. But she's not going to let this one go.

"Hey, _watch_ where you're go-"

Her voice instantly died from her throat, quickly replaced by a thick lump, as she tilts her head _way back_ to stare up at the person before her.

Horrifying, is the first word that came into her mind at the first sight of the person before her. Same goes with the second, and the third. Astrid is a person who is hard to scare and not quickly judge a person, even after spending a few days with them.

But this… _terrifying_ looking man sends shivers down her spine, over and over again. Could she call him a man with those hideous scars all over his face? He is more of a monster than a man with those disfiguring scars.

There are three giant claw-like vivid scars, starting from upper left side of his face and down to the lower right side of his face, even reaching to the side of his neck, crossing his eyebrows, his eyes the bridge of his nose and his lips. Astrid notices that his left eye is significantly duller than the right, making her realizes that he is blind on his left eye.

His entire right cheek looks like it is melted, leaving a disfigured pale flesh. He is also missing the right corner of his lips, revealing his gums and teeth, almost like fangs. But the teeth are partially covered by a trail of disfigured flesh formed probably by what had melted his cheek.

There is a scar on the left side of his jaw, partially covered by the dull worn green scarf around his neck, trailing up to his ear. She morbidly notices that he's missing his left earlobe, which is probably related to the scar. On his right ear, he is missing the tip of the ear, leaving an almost circular wound; a _bullet _wound.

And his gaze… his _dual gaze_ from his darkly mismatched brown eyes, full in view since his nightly black hair is held back by a black hairband that is barely visible… She doesn't know which eye she should be scared of: the blind _dead_ left eye, or the piercing _hollow_ right eye. Either way, they vividly remind Astrid the gaze of her Uncle Finn gave her.

The very same gaze when she saw his lifeless body when she was only six.

A sharp pat on her shoulder brings her back to ground. She released a breath she didn't realize she held and swallows a mouthful of saliva she didn't realize she gathered, wetting her dry throat. She nearly holds her breath once more when she catches the sight of his hand on her shoulder.

Like his cheek, his entire left hand is disfigured, melted-looking, with no single hair on it, and is missing both of his middle and little fingers. On a more careful inspection, Astrid could see that his palm is also in a similar state. She doesn't know whether he still has his fingerprints or not.

The monstrous man has his sleeve rolled up to his elbow, giving her a full view of his entire forearm. It too shares the same fate as his cheek and his hand, but there is a deep scar starting from the back of his hand to the inside of his elbow, very vivid over the disfigured skin.

Astrid swallowed thickly as the scarred hand leaves her shoulder and the man walks pass her. She watches him go, feeling his thumping steps although she didn't hear them; his white shirt and his white pants make him looks morbidly like a lost ghoul.

He turns a corner and finally disappeared from her sight like a light breeze. Astrid takes another deep breath and leans against a wall beside her. She places her hand on her forehead, silently surprised at how sweaty and how warm it is.

She quickly heads to the toilet, almost jogging to it. She slams open the toilet door and makes a beeline for the sink. She splashes her face multiple times, almost soaking her entire clothes and her braided blonde hair. She looks up at her reflection in the mirror and studies herself.

She is so pale, and her eyes are wide and round. She looks like she saw a ghost. She probably _did_ saw a ghost.

…Or probably a ghoul, to be more precise.

In a flash less than a second, Astrid sees the hollow, _dead_ yet piercing brown eyes replacing hers. She yelps in startle and backs up quickly, almost slipped by the slippery floor. Her back slams onto one of the many toilet doors as she pants heavily.

Her eyes return back to blue in the reflection, thankfully. She takes a deep breath and sighs deeply as she pats her chest, calming down her frightened beating heart. She slaps her free hand onto her eyes and shakily shakes her head.

A Hofferson is not easily frightened but…

"_What the hell is he?_"

* * *

**Hello Hello! I am back and still alive!**

**This story is probably my greatest masterpiece, I had been working on it since November 2016. That's almost three years of work! ****This story is very different from my previous ones, so it is not your typical cup of tea, or coffee (I drink both).**

**I sincerely hope you enjoy this story as much as I am. Enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_Ég heyri en hlusta ekki  
Ég snerti en ekki við  
Ég anda en finn ekkert  
Ég sé en horfi ekki á_

"_Rafstraumur – Kveikur"_

"Wow. Astrid's sure taking her time in the toilet. Maybe she _is_ mas-"

"Rebecca "Ruffnut" Thorsten. Please do not finish that sentence."

"Sure then, Fredrick Bishop "Fishlegs" Ingerman."

"But she's got a point though," the male twin interjects before puffing out his chest. "As I, Trevor "Tuffnut" Thorsten, will here say that-"

"Since when are we starts using full name?"

"Why must thou interrupt thee, Sean "Snotlout" Jorgenson? Now thou shall-"

While Tuffnut rambles off with a little over the top grammar with him, silently amusing Sean while at it, both Ruffnut and Fishlegs are worried over Astrid. Well, only Fishlegs is, but Ruffnut has her own way of showing concerns. Just not in the typical away.

"Maybe she's waiting for you in class?" Fishlegs suggests but he sounds doubtful. Rebecca checks the time once more, noting that the afternoon class is about to begin.

"Probably." Ruffnut herself is doubtful at the idea. Astrid had never done such thing, and her bag is still here in the cafeteria. And Ruffnut knows that Astrid didn't trust her enough to carry the bag to class, although the two are best friends (but that's how friendship works).

The bell rings, signaling it's time for the next class. Just as the gang about to leave the cafeteria, the girl in question has finally emerges, to (half of) everyone's relief.

"Where have you been? Are you ma-"

"Like I said, don't finish that sentence," Fishlegs interjects once more, cutting off Ruffnut's line as she gives Astrid her bag (she does care after all).

"Sorry, I lost track of time," Astrid replies with a sigh. "And not only that, you know how far the toilet is." Ruffnut is not buying it. She looks at the blonde up and down with suspicious eyes.

"Let's go to class before it's late," Fishlegs suggests and everyone agreed. All of them didn't want to get an earful from their teachers. They go to their separate ways except for Ruffnut and Astrid since the two shares the same subject once more.

"Astrid? Astrid, are you okay?" Ruffnut asks when she notices she's not making any eye contact with anyone and keeping her eyes on the ground. She turns her head fully at her and looks at her up and down, frowning at her. As her best friend (well, _female_ best friend, anyway), Ruffnut knows this is not what Astrid would do.

"Astrid?" she grabs her shoulder. That earns her a startled yelp from Astrid. She's fully alert now and her eyes are wide. She sharply turns towards Ruffnut and visibly relaxes at the sight of her.

"You said something?" she asks her, looking at her expectedly. Ruffnut frowns in confusion, and silently notes that Astrid is trying to look nothing is wrong. Ruffnut narrows her eyes suspiciously. That didn't fool her; she knows Astrid very much. And this is not what Astrid would do.

"Are you okay?" she repeats, deciding to hold back a bit. "You're half soak. Is the water tap in the toilet broken again?"

"Oh," Astrid looks down at herself, noting her wet braid and the front of her jacket. "No, uh… I might just wash my face a little too vigorously," she answers while shrugging her shoulders. Ruffnut raises her eyebrow at her statement.

"Trying to wash that frown off from your face?"

As a reply, Astrid gave her best friend a sharp glare but nothing more. It's still not enough for Ruffnut. Astrid _is_ here, but only partially.

"Come on; let's hurry up before our teacher starts to send search parties for us." Ruffnut says, though on the contrary she is not looking forward to her class (hint: _"one of them homework"_).

When they turn at a corner, Astrid suddenly stops dead in her tracks. Ruffnut notices this and frowns deeper than before.

"Astrid?" Ruffnut calls. Astrid is frozen in her steps, her head tilted way back as she gazes up with wide blue eyes. "Dumbass!" she calls out louder, and still she did respond. Now frowning in more confusion, she approaches her carefully as if she's a wild deer (more like a roused tiger than a wild deer), until she stands directly in front of her.

Astrid seems to look high up above her, way above the tip of her head. Ruffnut looks up at where she's looking but seeing nothing. She looks back down and into her wide blue stunned eyes. His confusion reverts back into silent worry.

"Astrid?" Ruffnut lands a hand on her shoulder. Her entire body immediately tenses up as she sharply looks down at her hand, still with her wide stunned eyes.

Suddenly, she releases a breath she subconsciously held and takes a few deep breaths before heaving a deep sigh. She turns her head and finally makes eye contact with the silently still worried Ruffnut.

"Are you sure you're okay, Astrid?" Ruffnut asks tilting her head slightly. Astrid didn't answer immediately. She pats Ruffnut's hand before removing it from her shoulder.

"I'm _fine_," she insists, a little more to herself than to her best friend. "I'm just… you know, _tired_. I barely got a wink of sleep last night, _and_ a grade on one of my subjects is dropping. And Hiccup's not around to help me with it. So a lot of things are crashing around in my tired mind right now."

Ruffnut has to admit; she _is_ right about something though. She did occasionally say that her parents were fighting on some occasional nights (still debating over the names of their future grandchildren even though their daughter is still has yet to find a boy) before going to sleep.

And back a while ago, Astrid did come to Hiccup – full name Henry Hackett Haddock the Third – to help her with her grades. Now that her longtime childhood friend is away her grades are gradually going down. Ruffnut would have helped her but she is as clueless as her. Maybe she'll bribe Fishlegs to help them.

But she knows that that is not what causes her this way. And seeing her how she keeps dodging the question (a trait she stubbornly maintain even after being out of character), she decides to let her off the hook for the moment.

"Come on then; we're already late for class. The teacher probably has already send search parties for us."

.

Her classes didn't bode well for Astrid. She barely concentrates on a word before her mind starts to wander off somewhere where she wouldn't want to wander. Her mind keeps going there no matter how much she tries to stop it.

And she kept seeing a white figure at the corner of her eyes.

She constantly got yelled by the teachers for zoning out, and they were very embarrassing for her, really ruining her image to everyone (as if she cares at all but it seems everyone has the same image of her). Even with some help from her friends she couldn't pay any attention to the teachers babbling in front of the class.

One of the embarrassing moments is when a spontaneous teacher suddenly popped a sudden question directing at her after slamming a stack of books on the desk.

.

_**SLAM!**_

"_Amanda Hofferson! What is the capital city of a country called Brunei Darussalam!?"_

"_Georg "Goggi" Hólm, Miss!"_

.

The fit of laughter came after that really rubs salts onto the wound _deeply_. While there are people laughing at her sudden misfortune, her close friends are starting to get worried. They all know that Astrid and never been acting this way.

When school is over, they confronted her about it, all very worried about her. Of course, they expected her to throw a fit over coddling with her, scowling at them and saying that she can handle herself no matter what the situations are.

But they received a totally different answer.

"I'm _fine_. Gosh, you guys are such mother hens."

Instantly, after receiving the answer, they all know that she is definitely not fine. But before they could get a real answer from her, she already bid them goodbye.

Astrid is actually walks to and from school. Her house is placed quite near the school, just a walking distance away. She's not concern if she's going to be kidnapped at the side of the road.

The kidnappers would be already on the ground before they could tie her up.

As Astrid walks at the concrete sidewalk, just as her mind about to wander back to the previous place, she suddenly feels something tickles her nose. She wrinkles it and looks up at the sky.

The sun disappeared behind thick black clouds, and it's getting dark. The rumbling sound above her, plus the earlier tickle on the nose, signals her that it's about to rain. Astrid sighs tiredly and jogs her way home.

She just arrived at the doorstep of her house when it rains heavily. She enters her house and silently sighs in relief when she is greeted by peaceful silence.

And by peaceful silence, she means not her parents fighting with each other over naming their grandchildren.

"I'm home!" she shouts through her house.

"Welcome back!" her father replied from the living room.

"You're home early. Where's Mom?" Astrid asks her father as she enters the room. Vincent smiles at his daughter from his armchair before returning back to the late news he is watching, removing a blonde lock from his eyes.

"Your mother is preparing dinner in the kitchen," he answers without taking his gray eyes off from the television. Astrid is suddenly curious at the news her father is watching.

"What's this about?" she asks him, standing right beside his chair as she stares at the news.

"There's an accident happened near your school earlier this morning." The news shows the big wreckage that had happened earlier with a reporter right in front of the camera, involving a family van and a small car.

Astrid shrugs her shoulder, now lost interest in the news, and is about to head for the kitchen when her blue eyes suddenly caught something in the news. At the very corner of the screen, barely visible, Astrid notices a figure in rises from the wreckage with his back towards the camera. And then the figure walks out of frame, seemingly ignored by everyone.

Her heart beats shakily and she swallows thickly. Although she has only seen that back once, she couldn't take the sight off from her mind.

"I-I'll go help her out," Astrid says shakily as she quickly exits the living room and heads for the kitchen, getting away from what she had just saw in the news.

"Hey, Amanda, any potential boyfriend yet!?"

"I'm not going to talk about it, Dad!"

"Yet! You better be prepared about it because you're going to get an earful of it from me and your mother!"

.

Astrid sighs in relief once she put on her comfortable nightgown. With her towel, she dries her golden hair vigorously, knowing how frustrating her hair can be when it's wet.

Dinner earlier had gone smoother than she had ever thought. It's not like she's looking forward to her parents interrogating her about her future husband that she definitely hadn't pick yet, but it becomes very predictable routine.

To her dismay though, they had actually noticed her change of behavior. Like what she had gave to her friends at school, she just said that she's fine and will be in a better mood if she sleeps well tonight, if her parents let her.

Astrid jumps onto her bed and flops onto her back with her golden hair sprawl all over the place. She doubts that she'll ever sleep comfortable tonight, especially with _what _that has been haunting her since this afternoon.

But at least she could try getting a comfortable sleep tonight. The rain outside may help her lull to sleep. Astrid sits up on her bed and leans on the window sill. Her eyes landed on the broken wooden swan for a long moment before grabbing the wood block and knife right beside it. The block is still far from the shape she wants.

She's already starting to get sleepy just watching and listening to the relaxing rain outside her window, almost nicked her finger with her knife. Her eyes are just halfway closed when they suddenly caught something outside her window. Instantly, she is wide awake.

And instantly, she is overwhelmed with fear.

The monstrous man in white is walking down the sidewalk in his constant rhythmic slow pace, didn't seem to be bothered by the heavy rain on him. Her eyes glued on him as her mind debates with itself where he is soaked or not, _real or not_.

The old worn dull green scarf tightly winds multiple times around his neck and up to his chin and his sleeves are down to his wrists, trying to fight with the cold. That gave Astrid a small sweep of relief that the monstrous man is in fact a real being, and not a part of her delusional imagination.

It also intensifies her fear for the fact that the monstrous man _is in fact a real being_.

He kept walking before he disappeared when he walked pass her house.

* * *

**Don't be too alarmed, this is not a horror story... yet.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_Óraunverulegur  
Þú birstist mér  
Engum Öðrum  
Og verður að engu_

"_Ekki Múkk – Valtari__"_

Amanda couldn't concentrate anymore, no matter how much she tries.

Her mind is in a scramble; she's unable to think straight. It has been gone for over a week now. She has been losing sleeps, and even her hands refuse to carve. And _that _is very disconcerting. She had been wood carving since she was _four _and she had never faced any problems like this before.

No, Amanda is having _nightmares_. She is _Amanda "Astrid" Hofferson_, fearless like her Uncle Finn, beautiful like her mother Linda, and athletic like her father Vincent. A Hofferson never have nightmares.

But here she is; Amanda "Astrid" Hofferson is having a nightmare, and she is terrified of it.

That's not only it. She's losing her appetite, no matter how hungry she is. She barely takes a nibble on her lunch before she declares she's full.

Her lack of sleep and meal causes Amanda her reputation. Because she barely has any food in her desperately starving stomach, she losses her athletic skills and her beautifully crafted body shape. And she's getting thinner, losing her outstanding beauty.

She couldn't pay attention to anything what had been written on the board in front of the class. The words from the teachers _barely_ registered in her distraught mind. Hell, the same spontaneous teacher didn't have any effect on her.

.

_**SLAM!**_

"_Amanda Hofferson! Two plus two is equal to what!?"_

"…"

_**SLAM! SLAM!**_

"_Amanda Hofferson!"_

"…"

_**BEEP! BEEP!**_

"_Hello! Earth to Hofferson!"_

"…"

"_Ring, Ring! Calling Amanda "Astrid" Hofferson!"_

"…"

"…_I give up."_

.

She had sent to the principal's office _twice_, the first time ever Amanda "Astrid" Hofferson got sent to the principal's office. Despite wearing a bucket as a hat, the principal is very forgiving and lets her off the hook both times.

But the end doesn't end there despite the irony of this sentence. The lack of sleep and meal plus her distraught mind have done more than just losing her athletic skills, her (mild but deteriorating) intelligence and her outstanding beauty.

She is delusional, seeing things that aren't there but there to her. She didn't admit it, claiming that the thing she sees _is_ there. But everyone begs to differ.

"There!"

It is lunchtime. The gang of five friends is at their usual table munching away through their meal like all is well in the world and the world next to them, but that's for a different story.

"Tell me you saw that!"

Like everyday's daily stuff, Trevor and Rebecca are rolling on the ground throwing fists all around. Their similarly blonde hairs are in a mess from being forcefully pulled and their faces are black and blue from their fists.

"Right over there!"

Fredrick is mashing his big face into multiple books all at once, managing to sneak his lunch into his mouth somehow. If listen closely, he's murmuring out every single word he read. If that's not annoying, then his over-insisting page turning may do.

"Tell me you see it!"

Today, however, the gang is joined by another girl, named Heather Johnson. Lovely, a little shy, attractive and incredibly kind, she is the _only_ girl who surpassed Astrid before and after her paranoia. Beside her appearance – dark black hair and green eyes – she is basically the female version of Hiccup (if you ever met the guy).

"There! There! On the left!"

Sean is missing, though.

"RIGHT FU-"

Everything is okay.

"-ING THERE!"

Okay, everything is definitely _not _okay.

For starter, Trevor and Rebecca are not rolling on the ground throwing fists all around, hair messed and black and blue faces. Instead, they are firmly sitting in their usual seats. Their eyebrows are raised worriedly at a certain girl at the table.

Fredrick did has his face mashed his big face into multiple books all at once, and did manage to sneak his lunch into his mouth. But he is not reading any words of the books, since his eyes are poking above them, staring worriedly at a certain girl at the table.

The reason Heather is at the table is, of course, because of a certain girl at the table, sitting right beside her while placing a worried hand on her shoulder.

Astrid is basically the basic definition of a shipwreck. Her golden blonde hair is no longer as bright as it is before. It's not in its usual braid over her left shoulder. Instead, it is now a yellow bird's nest. Because of her frighteningly thin frame, her clothes are baggy over her body. Her cheeks are hollow and those bags under her eyes look a little heavy.

Speaking of her eyes, they are abnormally wide despite having heavy bags under them. The sapphire blue color of her eyes is less bright and faded, losing their sparkle.

As the days slowly go on, her reputation slowly goes down. She is no longer the Astrid everyone knows.

Sean is still missing, though.

"Okay, how about this," Heather starts suddenly, gaining everyone's attention except for Amanda who keeps turning her head from one side to another. "There's a small restaurant close by, called The Forge. They provide good beverages and – despite the quirky names – good foods and soothing atmosphere. After school, maybe we could go there?"

"Do you think the restaurant could help her?" Rebecca looks skeptical at Heather's suggestion. "I mean… from what I heard, a few good drinks may solve problems but-"

"They don't serve heavy drinks," Heather cuts her off, glaring at her for the inappropriate suggestion. "And no! Even if they _do_ serve alcohol, I _wouldn't_ give them to Astrid _no matter what the situation is_. And we're underage, for goodness sake."

"You know, Ruffnut do had a point there, Heather. Do you really think the restaurant could help her?" Fredrick asks the brunette, giving Amanda a worried glance.

The blonde once-a-beauty girl didn't realize what is happening around the table, despite being the center of attention. She's a little too preoccupied with her own mind and her own sight.

"Well, whenever I stressed out, I go there. Every time, I always calmed down almost instantly. So does some members of my family. And the herbal tea that is really soothing. So maybe it could help Astrid too." Despite her words, Heather herself doesn't look quite convince.

"Well, at least it's better than nothing." Fredrick shrugs his shoulders as he opens another book. Just in time, the bell rings.

"Over there! _Please_ tell me you see _him_!"

.

"Yoo-hoo! Hello! Amanda!"

"…"

"Can someone check her if she's _not_ in a coma or something?"

.

Of course, the gang of friends head to The Forge (the name is suspiciously stereotypical) after school is over. They had to contact their parents to tell them their newly created plan of the afternoon.

All are given the permission, thankfully.

Like what Heather had said, The Forge is quite close to the school; just in a walking distance. Though, it is further away from Amanda's house and in the opposite direction, and it takes the gang over thirty minutes to arrive.

Their journey from the school to the small restaurant is quite an earful. And shockingly enough, Amanda had stayed quiet the whole way. The only persons who caused all the noise are none other than the twins.

Rolling on the floor, fists and heels flew all over the place, mouths spouted nasty stuffs… you know; those kinds of typical twin stuff.

The twins' action gave the gang a sweep of relief, feeling that things are going to be normal. It also gave the gang a sweep of embarrassment since they also gained the attention from _everyone _at _everywhere _throughout the _whole way_ to The Forge.

Sean is still missing, though.

"Here we are." The gang enters the restaurant with Heather up front; the bells on the door jingle, signaling their arrival. All of them sigh in relief for getting out of the spotlight, except for Amanda – who is too busy with her own distraught mind – and the twin who are shameless over their antics with cuts and bruises.

The moment that they had released from the spotlight and into the restaurant, they instantly feel the calmness and the relaxing atmosphere. The tension on their shoulders disappeared and they all relax.

Even Amanda has lost some of the tension on her shoulders. She still looks around frantically, though.

The gang takes the table right next to the clear window and takes in the sight of the outside world. There is a lot of garbage outside but beside that, the view is fairly nice.

"Good evening, Heather!" A waitress comes up to their table with a notepad and a wooden pencil plus the menu, beaming widely at the green eyed brunette who beams back. "I've been expecting you." Heather rolls her eyes.

"Good evening to you too, Camicazi. _Of course_ you've been expecting me; I came here almost everyday." The suspiciously Amanda-looking waitress, _Camicazi_, laughed softly.

"I see you've brought some friends. Nice to meet all of you, I'm Cathy Andertons, or just Camicazi for short," the waitress giggles as she scans the table, taking in everyone's faces and sweatdrops at what she sees.

Two blonde twins' faces are black and blue plus red with bruises and mild blood, a big blonde guy has his face mashed into a book, and another blonde girl looks incredibly pale and has a frantic look.

"May I have your orders please?" She says without stammering, already been used to this kind of quirks.

Everyone gives her their orders after scanning through the menu ("Just who the hell in the right mind would name the foods around here!?" one might demands loudly just after seeing the first two foods his eyes landed) and Cathy jots them down quickly. She takes back the menu and walks away.

.

"Here are your orders." Cathy returns with a large tray in her hands. She puts down their orders before placing the tray under her left armpit and straightens up. "Enjoy your meal!" she then walks away with a light bounce on her feet. Everyone at the table glances at blonde in attention.

Amanda is fidgeting with her fingers as she scans out the window with her still wide eyes. She is still in her delusional and paranoid state. The seed of worry gets bigger; somewhat feeling that she is more than just paranoid. Even when the bells on the door jingle she would twitch slightly in her seat.

"Astrid?" Heather calls her name as soft as possible, not wanting to startle her like before. She didn't startle, lucky Heather. She removes her attention from outside the window and to the brunette. "Drink this." She hands her the tea.

Amanda takes it without a second thought and sips it gently. Everyone stares at her in anticipation, silently wishing that it'll help her to lessen the tension a tad. Almost immediately, she's visibly relaxed.

"It looks like the tea works," Trevor comments in surprise, earning a glare from Heather.

"Are you saying you've doubted me this whole time?" Trevor just shrugs in response before returning to mining his nose nonchalantly.

"Feeling okay now?" Heather lands a hand on her relaxed shoulder as she releases a sigh. She nods in affirmation, looking better than before.

"Yeah, I'm feeling quite better. But I _swear to God_ that I saw _him_." Despite feeling better, like what she had just said, she still insists she believes that she saw the monstrous man. Everyone sighs, their hope dwindles once more.

"Just _who_ is this _"him" _you're keep babbling about?" Rebecca asks finally, feeling a little bit irritated by her persistence. Amanda takes another sip of her tea. "I hope it's not boy you've been-"

_**SMACK!**_

"I'm just _kidding_!" Rebecca rubs her cheek as Heather drops back into her seat with a glare.

"This is _not_ the time for one of your jokes, Ruffnut." She returns her attention back to Amanda beside her who puts down the cup onto the table. "But she does have a point there Astrid; who is this _"him" _you've keep seeing?"

Amanda sighs once more and rubs her forehead. Her skin has finally gaining its color, to everyone's relief.

"Ruffnut's a bit right on the point though. But he's not a boy; more like a man." Fredrick narrows his eyes upon catching her words.

"What do you mean "more like a man"? Is he in the awkward state between a boy and a man but leaning more towards the man? Because if that is it, then that means this guy is around our age."

"No," Amanda shakes her head in denial. "He's an adult man, but…" she suddenly trails off, biting her lips a bit. The others lean in closer in anticipation, waiting for the answer.

"Astrid, are you sure that what you saw _really _a physical thing and not just in your head? I mean, you've been-"

"He's like a _walking corpse_," she suddenly snaps, cutting Heather off. "When you _ever _see him, the _first _thing that you _ever_ see is _scars_. Scars that are large enough, _deep _enough to make you believe that is lethal, and this _monstrous man_ has them _all over him_. It makes you believe he shouldn't be _alive_."

She groans and drops her face into her hands, placing her elbows on the table as the others take in her words. She shakes her head in exasperation.

"Sorry," she apologizes. Of course, four pairs of eyebrows shot up at her words since Amanda had never apologize before. "I'm sorry for snapping. Just… I've been losing sleeps because of this _guy _haunting me, both in real life _and _in my dream."

Being the one sitting on her side, Heather puts an arm around her shoulder and gives her a one arm hug of comfort. Suddenly, everyone in the restaurant heard a crash, follow closely by plates shattering. They turn their attention to it, except for Amanda; she's a little too preoccupied _trying_ to relax a bit. She did glance outside through the window beside her though.

She immediately stiffens in fear and her sapphire blue eyes widens.

He is just walking by outside and right into her field of vision, but stops in his track when his mismatched eyes land on her through the window. The time stops as the two stare at each other. The mismatched brown pair eyes narrow while the matched blue pair eyes widen.

"Wonders what was all that about." Fredrick mutters as he and the other three return their attention back to the table. Then, they all see the huddling form of Amanda. "Uh… Astrid, are you okay?" She didn't respond, only keeps trembling in her seat.

"Please tell me you saw him," she whispers with shaky voice, pointedly looking away from the windows. Heather places her arm around her once more to give comfort, but that didn't seem to make a difference.

She looks out the window and sees that no one's standing there; just passing pedestrians. She did saw a tall white figure walking away before disappeared from the restaurant's window but she didn't put much thought into it.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_Enn á eðal tél  
Lýðar gætúr birta von  
Gegnum mér sjá logn  
Allt toginá alða_

"_Dauðlogn – Valtari__"_

"Astrid my daughter, _Amanda_, are you _sure_ you still want to go to school? We've been receiving complains from your teachers about your sudden attitude. Don't you think you should take a rest?"

Linda's worried over her only daughter. It's been a week and a half since all of this started and as the days go on, the worse her daughter gets. And from day one, she had been fussing about this "him" she keeps seeing.

When Amanda first start talking about this "him" guy, Linda starts to think she is seeing a boy who is the future son-in-law, but from how Amanda has been this week, she corrected herself that her daughter is stalked.

But after received complains from the school and after hearing the thoughts of her friends, Linda begins to think that her daughter is going crazy. They all said that she saw someone who is not exists, claiming she's delusional.

Yet Linda refuses to believe. She blames it on her lack meal and rest. But it begs the question: what started it?

"I would prefer to be outside than being stuck in a box fussing about _him_, thank you very much."

It really affects Amanda deeply, for her to be this much trouble. Linda is planning on bringing her to a psychiatrist but because she is her daughter she knows Amanda would cause even more fuss for it, constantly claiming that she is not going crazy and delusional.

Linda couldn't help but let her go for the moment until it goes too far, if this is not too far yet. If things get serious, then she and her husband step in.

"Just… Be careful, dear." Linda is massaging her eyebrows as her daughter steps out of the house after cautiously looking left and right before closing the door behind her. The mother sighs tiredly and worriedly.

"How am I going to do this?"

.

Amanda is only a block away from her house when she feels something tickled her nose, something wet. Then, a sudden clap of thunder is heard above her. She barely registers both things.

She quickens her pace but her limbs are slowing down instead. Her vision starts to go blur and she feels incredibly tired. The rain suddenly started, but the droplets of water quickly changed to heavy raining. Amanda forces her limbs to move as quickly as possible but they refuse to listen.

Finally, her legs refuse to move and she collapses on the pavement, creating a splash from the quickly filling puddle. Her arms wouldn't move no matter how much she tries. Her entire body is drained from its energy.

The last thing she saw between her fade blonde locks is a pair of black boots partially covered by something white approaching her before her entire world gone dark.

.

She suddenly managed to gain conscious feeling disoriented, and very hungry. The Earth beneath her seems to shake in a rhythm, strong yet careful. She could feel that her entire body is soaked wet for some reason.

Then, she remembers the reason why: she passed out in the middle of the pavement. And the last thing she remember seeing is a pair of black shoes. Or are they boots?

She faintly registers that it's still raining, from the muffled rapid tapping sound right on top of her head.

Still with her eyes closed, she is confused on why is the raining sounds muffled and why the Earth shaken. Then, she faintly feels that her body is in a fixed position.

She now knows that she is been carried on someone's back with what is probably a jacket or a coat covered her entire figure. She forces her eyes open and lifts her head slightly.

She is greeted by a right ear with circular wound at the tip before she succumbs into blackness once more.

.

She wakes up with a small startled gasp and the first thing she heard is a surprised feminine yelp plus a metallic clatter. The first thing she registered is that she is less hungry than before, more energized. She looks around her, finally aware of her surrounding.

She's in The Forge, and Cathy is picking up a spoon from the ground before sitting down on a chair right beside her.

"Camicazi?"

"Wow, you actually remember?" the second blonde girl replies as she places the spoon on the table, right beside a half empty bowl of soup. The broth gains Amanda's attention, and she suddenly tasting flavors at the back of her throat.

"Did you just feed me soup?" Amanda gave Cathy a stone hard stare, almost the border of a glare if she is energized enough.

"Well what do you want, the "Plasma Blast" triple meat burger special? How about the "Tail Spike" fish fillets double whammy special? Maybe the "Molten Rock" meatball spaghetti special? If you hadn't been out cold I would've given you _all three of them_ from the guy's cash." Cathy returns back the stare, even harder.

Amanda catches something from her words, causing her eyebrows to rise.

"Guy? Who's-" She cuts herself off as she looks down herself. She is completely wrapped up by a large white towel, encasing her like a cocoon. Underneath the towel, she could feel her partially wet clothes but she's drier and warmer than before.

There is large leather white trench coat around her shoulders, something she has never seen before.

"Wait, what time is it?" Amanda asks as she looks outside and noting that it's raining heavily. The second almost identical blonde girl looks down at her wrist watch.

"It's way past noon." Amanda sighs as she leans back against her chair.

"I missed all of my classes," she mutters quietly, rubbing her face with her hands she manage to wiggle out from her cocoon. Cathy can't help but snorts.

"From what I heard from Heather, you _barely _pay any attention in _all _of your classes _and_ lunchtime," she points out, earning a glare from the other blonde girl. "But I didn't go to school so I don't entirely know what happened. So what happen to you for being carried on a guy's back?"

"I passed out," Amanda answers before she shakes her head. "Anyway, who's this guy that carried me here?" At her question, Cathy suddenly frowns and tries to remember back.

"I don't know. I can't really see his face. He wears a scarf that covers half of his face. And I focused a little bit too much on you. He just dropped you off and left after leaving a note and a bill, really didn't give a single crap about the heavy rain."

Amanda takes in a deep breath. Could it be the same "guy" she had been scared of? Could he be the one who approached her earlier?

"He's pretty rude in his action, ruthless and unforgiving. When I say "he just dropped you off", he just _dropped you off_ like you're a sack of potato or something. It's a wonder that you're not woken up from the drop." Cathy is grimacing as she says that. "And the note is just as bad as him. Nice coat, by the way."

"It's not mine. And what note you're talking about?" Amanda asks as she wiggles her arms fully out from her cocoon. Cathy fidgets with her pants, searching for the said note.

"He left a hundred dollar bill along with this." She hands the note to the other blonde girl. Amanda looks down at the slightly wet note and reads the scribbles. She cringes a bit at the words that without a doubt directing to her.

_Choke her down with  
some food or something.  
A toothpick has better use  
than her entire body._

.

"She's not showing up at school either."

"Try calling her friends."

"I've already did it _trice_. None of them have seen her the whole day. Even Rebecca hadn't found her yet."

"Try calling her phone once more." The increasingly worried brunette mother urges her husband once more from the sofa of the living room. Vincent is pacing around the room with his ancient phone at his ear, his hair flies around from his pacing.

"She's not picking up." He removes the phone from his ear to redial his daughter's phone number for the umpteenth time and replaces it back to his ear while not stalling in his pace.

Linda wrings her hands together worriedly and looks out through the window. The raining is less heavy now, but it didn't lessen the worry the parents are feeling at the current moment.

Sure, Amanda is a _**very **_capable girl; she is a Hofferson, after all. But because of her distraught state, she is quite vulnerable. And it's a parents' nature to worry over their daughter no matter how independent she is.

Suddenly, the front door swings open. Almost instantly, both parents dash towards it, silently hoping it is the one they are looking. Both sigh in relief when they notice it is none other than their own daughter, wet but safe.

"_Amanda_! Where have you been? We've been trying to contact you since _noon_!" Despite her angry words, Linda runs over and embraced her daughter tightly, almost suffocating Amanda. She didn't care the state of her daughter. All that she cares is that she is safe.

"Sorry about that. My phone's busted by the rain earlier." Amanda pats her mother's back, silently telling her to give a space to breath. Linda finally let go and Amanda takes a deep breath.

"Astrid, where did you get that?" Vincent, who had been patiently waiting, suddenly asks as he points out at what is encasing around Amanda's thin frame. Linda takes a step back to get a full view of her daughter, now finally seeing what she had been wearing.

Amanda has a fairly oversized leather white trench coat around her shoulders. Amanda suddenly looks sheepish.

"Yeah, about that…"

.

Like any other parents would react, both of her parents almost go wild when Amanda told them she passed out in the middle of the sidewalk under the heavy rain due to her lack of nutrition and rest. Vincent's almost threatens to personally carry her to the hospital for a checkup.

Before any of the two wild parents could act, Amanda immediately explained to them what happened next: that someone had luckily found her and decided to bring her to The Forge.

That calms them down but only by a bit, and luckily for her curiosity struck the parents; their worry slowly diminishes. Amanda mentally sighs in relief, for once in her life thankful for her parents' major flaw.

"Do you know how he looks like? We would like to thank him."

"Dad! Please, you don't need to do something like that for me. I'm already a teenager, not a _kid_. I can take care of myself, independent."

"_Please_, with your current state, you're really stretching the word "independent"." It's obvious that there is a trace of sarcasm in Linda's tone, earning a dirty look from her daughter.

"Just for your info, no. I have no idea how he looks like, like I care anyway."

Linda's eyebrows shoot up in surprise before returning to their previous position quickly to hide her surprise; not once but twice. She glances at her husband who secretly glances at her back.

It looks like both parents noticed them.

"Okay, okay. I'm just asking." Vincent backs off while raising his hands in surrender, knowing that his daughter will raise a bigger fuss if he keeps pressing the matter. Amanda silently sighs in relief.

"I'm going to wash up." Amanda makes her way to the bathroom, leaving a trail of droplets from the rain. Now that her back is turned, Linda and Vincent share a look.

"Is she…" Linda trails off, her blue eyes glitter. Her husband nods his head, his own gray eyes glitter the same way.

"I think she is returning back," Vincent agrees as the married couple looks back at where their daughter disappeared to.

The bathroom, basically.

.

Amanda sighs as the comfortably warm water runs down her entire body, cleaning her from the cold and filthy stuff from the outside world. She rakes her fingers through her hair and her eyes fly open when she realizes something.

Her hair is so dirty, so messy, due to not wash properly. And the last time she remembered she ever washed her hair was over a week. She removes her hands from her hair and looks down at them.

They are so _thin_, even thinner that Henry when the last time they had met him. And he is dubbed as _fishbone_ even, for being so incredibly thin. Amanda scans her entire body, bitterly noted her thin frail state. She lost her curves; both the beauty curves and the athletic curves. She sighs and tilts her head back, letting the raining shower water hits her face.

Just why this man really affects her that much? Why just the sight of him, scared her to the core? Why is this man, just by his silent presence, enough to make her go insane?

Is he a scarred man or a teenage boy hidden by the horrible scars?

Why is he fills with scars? What are the stories behind each scar? How many scars are hidden behind his clothes? Is it the scars that terrify her? She closes her eyes and revisits the man's face. It appears quicker than she anticipates, surprising her but not enough to make her physically reacts.

_No_. It's not the scars that scare her. It's his gaze that really affects her very much, and the scars accentuate it. Hollow, empty, lifeless, _dead_, basically those are what she saw in his mismatch brown eyes.

She shivers, not because of the raining water but because of the man. His gaze eerily reminds her of her late Uncle Finn, _after_ his last moment.

Amanda drops her head into her hands and sighs heavily. She shakes her head to clear her mind away from her deceased Uncle Finn. She lifts her hair from her face and peaks out the curtains.

The leather white coat is placed on the toilet lid, away from her dirty clothes basket. Maybe she should give it back if she ever bumps into him again…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_Dett niður eg læt mig líða áfram og einhvern veginn  
Ég ken alltaf niður aftur á sama stað alger þögn_

"_Viðrar Vel Til Loftárása – Ágætis Byrjun__"_

"ASTRID! YOU'RE ALIVE!" The female blonde twin squeals as she sprints at the approaching Amanda. And the first thing she received is a punch in the face at the last second before her hands could reach Amanda. "It's… great to have you back," Rebecca chokes out from the ground, holding her injured face.

"No kidding," the blonde twin brother comments as he and the group of friends, including Heather, come up. Trevor's just stares down at his injured sister, not even bother to help her out or anything. "The last time she's ever landing a punch was over a week ago."

After hearing his words, everyone stares at Amanda with raised eyebrows. The glow of her hair has returned, and the signature angry look on her face is back. Talking about her face, it is now gaining its color and less hollowed out. Although still thin, her posture is strong, firm, so _Astrid_.

Just by seeing this, they all know that Amanda "Astrid" Hofferson is back. The only different on her figure is that she is carrying a small white plastic bag in her hand, which she had never done before.

"Whatever happened yesterday must've really important to bring you back. What happen anyway?"

"I passed out in the middle of the pavement," Amanda answers Sean's question. She wiggles her fingers, opening and closing her hand after she lands the punch on Rebecca's face. Her fist is still throbbing in pain. She is still weak, she silently notes.

"What the hell happened that caused you to pass out?" Rebecca asks as she picks herself up from the floor, rubbing her cheek while at it.

"Come on; let's get or we will be late for class."

"Wait, hold on there! Don't walk away from me, sassy lady!" Rebecca jogs to Amanda's side, silently surprised at it too. "And the last time you've said that the teacher had already sent for a search party- OOF!"

.

_**SLAM!**_

"AMANDA HOFFERSON! What goes up when the rain comes down?"

"Umbrella, Miss!"

"Corre- Correct?! Hold on for a second! Amanda, did something happen to you?"

.

It is lunch time, and everyone – and by all mean, _everyone _– is staring at one particular girl who has a terrible table manner as she ferociously devours her meal. It turns out that the bag she carries in her hand is her lunch. Well, one might say it is her breakfast, lunch, dinner _and_ her tomorrow's breakfast, lunch and dinner. There's just a lot of it.

Heather and the others at the same table with Amanda doubt that she could take them all in. While their worry over her sudden…"insanity" for the past week and a half had diminished, their worry over her going back to shape raise inside them.

It looks like one problem leads to another.

"I need to get back in shape," Amanda says between ferocious bites, unintentionally spewing out some of the food at Fredrick and the twins, the unfortunate victims. And Amanda didn't give a single thought at her action.

"Don't you think you're going a little overboard with those?" Heather points out at the multiple foods on the table, taking most of the space. Amanda ignores her and keeps shoving down food after food down her throat. "Astrid, I think you should slow down a bit or else you'll throw them all out."

As if on cue, Amanda starts to gag and places a hand over her mouth, trying to hold it in. Unfortunately, it's not enough. At the very last minute, Heather managed to snatch the white plastic bag and holds it at her mouth before she throws up.

"Well what do you know; it looks like you do prepare with a backup plan." Amanda spares a light glare at the green-eyed brunette before she pukes her meal again. Everyone cringes at the sound, almost following her action.

"That was fruitless," Amanda mutters bitterly as she straightens up in her seat, finally finished with her regurgitation. She thanks Rebecca for giving her a bottle of water and chugs it down to wash down the unpleasant taste.

"We've been warning you to slow down." Heather's brave enough to spare a glare at the blonde girl, taking advantage of her weakened state.

"Well, even _if _you did, I highly doubt that you'll finish all of these. Even _I _can't finish them all." Fredrick gestures towards all of the wide range of foods all over the table. Admit it, Fredrick is the behemoth among everyone; if he said he could finish the food then no one can.

"I need to get back in shape." Amanda wipes away the dripped water from her lips with the back of her hand. "I need my curves back. I need to gain back my athletic skills. I need to be Amanda "Astrid" Hofferson once more. I need to be beautiful once more," she says in a firm tone.

"And here I thought she has already lost her mind last week," the male twin whispers quietly to his sister, who faintly nods her head in agreement.

"You still haven't explained to us what happened yesterday." Amanda groans loudly and rolls her eyes to the ceiling before she provides the answer.

"I passed out, end of story."

"Oh come on. Don't go lame on us here Astrid. Give us the full detail," Rebecca whines before she snatches one of the many foods on the table and plops it into her mouth.

"Oh sure, just let me tell you my moments where I was actually weak because of my own fault to you guys because you are curious. _Nice_. Thanks for rubbing the salt into the wound guys. I _really _appreciate it." They are silently surprised that Henry had been rubbing off on her for being this sarcastic. Who could blame her; they had been childhood friends that still hold on despite Henry had to move out of town.

"Oh come on, _please_!" Rebecca gives Amanda her best attempt of puppy eyes trying to wheedle the thinner blonde girl.

"Let me think of i- No."

"Well now that it seems that you're being uncooperative, _I _will explain what happened yesterday." Everyone turns towards Heather with their eyebrows raised in surprise while Amanda looks skeptical.

"Please, like you ever know."

"I've got my informant." Heather looks smug when she says that. Amanda looks surprised at the info before it hits her.

"_Camicazi_."

"Basically, from what Astrid here said to Camicazi and from what she saw, said that she passed out in the middle of the pavement under the heavy rain because of her _lack of meal and rest_."

"You don't have to emphasize the last few words _just _to make me feel guilty."

"But there is a plot twist." Heather paused dramatically. Amanda groans once more, knowing what's coming next. "She has a mysterious rescuer."

"Please stop being dramatic. It's nothing serious. He's just a Good Samaritan." Heather snorts at Amanda's statements.

"Camicazi said he dropped you onto a chair like a sack of potato. I doubt he's a Good Samaritan. Although, he _did_ leave a hundred dollar bill to, and I quoted, _"Choke her down with something"_. He even said a-"

"Okay! Enough said!" Amanda raises her hands in surrender before slamming them back down onto the table. "You've basically explained everything to everyone." Heather suddenly pouts.

"But what about the part where he also left his coat for you so you can use it to go home?" After hearing her words, everyone gives Amanda a suspicious look. For the umpteenth time, Amanda groans in dismay.

"He's probably _left_ the _god damn thing_," Amanda provides through her teeth almost angrily, annoyed by their persistence. Lucky for her, before anyone could say another word the school bell rang signaling it is time for next class. She sighs in relief, silently thanking (for the first time) for the bell to ring.

"Come on. It's time for class." She opens up her bag and takes out a second plastic bag, folded to reduce space. Everyone raises an eyebrow at it but raises the other eyebrow when she takes out a bright white coat from the plastic bag and puts it into her schoolbag.

"This is not over yet, Astrid." Amanda sighs heavily as she gathers up all of the untouched foods on the table into her plastic bag.

"I know it won't."

"So what am I going to do with this bag of puke?"

.

"Since all of you had done quite well today I am congratulating all of you with a prize! Here are your mountains of homework!"

"Oh come on!"

"No complaining! Amanda! Can a match box?!"

"No but a tin can!"

.

"You know the good thing about Astrid bringing _a lot _of food with her is we don't have to pay for a meal. The bad thing about Astrid bringing _a lot _of food with her is they are already cold and not fresh."

It's not really that surprise that the gang is now regular customers to The Forge and it has became their daily routine since the day Amanda started to act differently nearly two weeks ago. It is also not surprise to know that Heather and Cathy start to hang around the group.

But what is surprising is… Well, there is nothing that is quite surprising other than the fact that the restaurant is owned and founded by Gregory Brecht, a close friend to Henry's father.

The coincidence is somewhat a bit stereotypical but nobody gives too much notice on it.

"We still have to order for drinks though or else we'll die choking on cold food," Heather says between chews. "Who cook all the food anyway?" She directs the question to his Amanda, curious as everyone else at the table.

"I cook most of the food you ate. The rest is by my mom." Everyone gazes down at the food they held, looking very surprised.

"I did not know you can cook."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Again, just at the thought of who her best friend is they know she is being sarcastic. "I learned it from my mom, if you're curious."

"Don't you think it's a little too early to be a housewife?" Rebecca dodges the meatball at the very last moment. "I have a mixed answer."

"So why did you bring the guy's coat with you? You want to sniff his smell?" Trevor dodges the second meatball while sharing a snicker with his twin sister.

"Maybe I'll run into him today so I can hand it back," although silently Amanda is not quite ready to face the man. She may be recovered from her "sudden change of behavior" but the fear is still lingering.

When asked, she is not going to admit it though. She'll insist that she is scared of nothing and that she is the Fearless Astrid.

Lucky for Amanda, she now has _loads_ of time since tomorrow is the start of the school holiday; a bit short holiday but satisfying enough (said no students ever!).

"Do you even know how he looks like? Because from what I heard, you were _out cold_ to even know how he looks like." Although sounding sarcastic, Rebecca couldn't really hold a candle to Henry, but good enough to irritate Amanda.

"Cami knows how he looks," Amanda gives a half-truth. Frankly she _completely _knows how he looks like; it's hard to _not_ remember how he looks like. It's just whether they would believe her or not. If she did tell them that the rescuer is the man that had been haunting her for the past week or so they would believe that she had reverted back to her "sudden change of behavior".

"No can do, Toothpick." Amanda throws the last meatball on her plate the last girl. "I barely pay any attention to him; a little too shocked at seeing you passed out on his back, plus how he dropped you onto a chair. All I know is that he's wearing all white with green scarf around his neck and has a long black hair that slick back and that's basically it."

"You mean like that guy over there?" Sean points a finger at a person who sits all the way on the other side of the restaurant. They turn to where he is pointing at, and their eyebrows rise high on their forehead.

The man is leaning back against his cushioned chair, his arms crossed over his chest. Half of his face, the lower half, is covered by a worn old dull green scarf. The only features that are visible are his closed eyes and his slick back black hair. Initially they thought he used hair gel but upon better look, he used black hairband.

Amanda is silently thankful that his sleeves are down to his wrists and half of his face is hidden, hiding the scars she witnessed beneath them (Most of them anyway). Not only it'll do well for her, it will also do well for everyone else so no one will run away screaming in fear.

"That's him," Amanda murmurs, barely heard by everyone at the table. Rebecca raises an eyebrow.

"Which one: the one who saved you yesterday or the one that you kept seeing during your hallucination?"

"Both." Everyone turns towards Amanda in surprised when hearing her lone single answer.

"So you're not crazy this whole time?" Not really in the mood for sarcasm Amanda merely nods in reply to her question. Fredrick suddenly frowns at her.

"How can you tell? Camicazi said you passed out the entire time. Even if you gained conscious for a second how did you know he's the same guy?"

"His right ear." Confused at her short answer, everyone turns back towards the man and squints to get a better look. Their eyebrows shoot up at seeing the circular wound on his right ear.

"So those descriptions you were talking about few days ago… you're not making them up." Even with the dull scarf covering half of the man's face, they could still clearly sees the three claw-like scars. And his left hand that grasps his right upper arm is missing both the middle finger and the little finger and is completely disfigured.

"Why is he here?" Rebecca slaps her twin's cheek with a scowl, earning her a loud yowl of pain.

"He's here to eat, dummy!"

"Does he even have a mouth? Why do you think he had a scarf around his face?" The unhappy Trevor rubs his reddened cheek with glaring at his twin. At the same time, Cathy calls of her colleagues of the restaurant.

"Did you take his order?"

"I did but he didn't say anything; just tapped the menu with his finger and then that's it. I think he's mute."

"Or he doesn't have any mouth." Rebecca slaps the other cheek of her twin, earning her another louder yowl of pain and a deeper glare.

"Uh, Astrid, where are you going?" Heather asks when she noticed that the said blonde girl left her seat and is approaching the scarred man.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_Þú segir aldrei beitt  
Þú ert ísjaki  
Þú ert isilagður  
Þú þegir þunnu hljóði  
Og felur þig  
Bakvið_

"_Ísjaki – Kveikur__"_

"Giving back what's belong to him."

Amanda didn't give anymore word. She just heads straight to the man she once feared of. The coat is in one of her hand. She grips it tightly but relaxes a bit on the grip so she wouldn't crumple the coat.

"I can do this. He is just a man riddled with scars."

'_Scars deep enough to be lethal and a gaze of a dead man,' _some dark parts deep in her mind add to her quiet murmur.

Amanda shudders at the thought of his dual gaze. It reminds her too much of her beloved late uncle. And she's going to face it once more. The fear of seeing him overwhelms her once but she stays strong.

'_I'm a Hofferson," _she tries to convince herself. _'Hoffersons are fearless.' _But the moments from the last week and half say otherwise. But Amanda tries to gain back her "Fearless Astrid" back, and she'll start by facing _him_.

She stops right beside his seat, beside his still form. His eyes are still closed, not knowing her close presence. She clears her throat to gain his attention. It worked since the man opens his eyes and looks up at her.

Amanda stiffens as the deep blue eyes narrow at her.

.

"_Uncle Finn?"_

…

"_Uncle Finn."_

…

"_Un… Uncle Finn?"_

…

"_Are you okay, Uncle Finn?"_

…

"_U-Uncle Finn?"_

…

"_U-Uncle Finn-n?"_

…

"_UNCLE PHINEAS!"_

_**SNAP!**_

.

Amanda gasps as she snaps back into reality. She closes her eyes and rubs them with the heel of her palms. She lowers down her hands and notices that the man lowers down his right hand.

She realizes that he had literally snapped her back into reality.

"Sorry, sorry." She rubs her eyes once more and takes a few deep breaths to clear her mind from… her uncle. "Sorry if I weird you out or make you uncomfortable."

She looks back up into his eyes and noted that they are now mismatched brown color. He has his arms crossed over his chest and an eyebrow slightly raised, patiently waiting for her to explain herself. Amanda tries not to think much of his dual gaze that fixes on her.

To not reliving back the memory, she decided to gaze at the scar that crossed the bridge of his nose. Not quite far from his dual gaze to avoid them, but quite far from making the situation awkward. If she gazes at his mouth she'll weird him out even more or making a fool of herself.

"I uh… want to give this back to you." Amanda lifts her left hand to give back his coat, only to find her hand empty. She had dropped it when she rubbed her eyes earlier. She immediately grabs it off from the ground and brushes away the invisible dust before thrusting the coat at him, pretending she didn't drop it.

The eyebrow rises slightly higher at the sight of his coat before taking it off from her hand with his right scarred hand (Five fingers, Amanda thought silently). A waitress suddenly arrived at the table, carrying a food and a drink.

"Here's your order sir, as requested," the waitress said kindly as she puts them down before walking away to serve another customers. The scarred man grabs a long stalk of French fry and wiggles it at her direction. Amanda understood his silent gesture.

"Oh I have loads of food to take in; especially with the cash you left for me." The man barely reacts to her answer, merely blinks. "Thanks… for the coat… and the cash…" Once more, the man barely reacts, merely shrugs his shoulders.

Amanda turns around to walk back to her table as the man pulls down his dull scarf to take a bite out of his food. As she tries to push away the awkwardness, she's feeling quite uncomfortable for receiving no verbal replies at all, not quite used to the silent treatments.

"How it goes?" Rebecca asks as Amanda drops into her seat before shoving a handful of meal into her mouth. They had been watching the interaction from afar.

"Awkward, very one-sided," Amanda admits with a mouthful. "He's either mute or being rude and refuse to reply." Everyone turns back towards the man who is calmly eating his meal.

Luckily his right side is facing them, so her friends couldn't see his disfigured left cheek. Amanda is silently thankful for it.

"Well at least he has a mouth." Trevor couldn't help but points out unintentionally causing Rebecca pulls her hand back for another strike.

.

Amanda wakes up with a startle when a torturous noise suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She ignores her torturing phone until whoever called her quits. But after the twenty-sixth time she begrudgingly wakes up from her blissful slumber to answer her shrilling phone.

"Whoever you are, you better have a damn good reason to wake me up this Sunday morning." Despite her tiredness she manages to snarl angrily to the phone.

"_Wow, are you always this feisty on Sunday?" _From the voice and the tone on the other side of the phone, Amanda knows it's none other than Rebecca. _"And it's noon, Miss Grump-ferson. Wakey wakey."_

"Whatever you want from me, _Miss Not-So-Grump-sten_, I'm not going to give you no matter how much you convince me or how much bargain you have." Before Rebecca could even say a single word Amanda cuts the line and switches her phone to silence before dropping back into her pillow without a second thought.

.

_**RING! RING!**_

_**RING! RING!**_

"I'll get it," Linda informs as she gets off from the couch and heads for the telephone. She silently wonders who would call them in this kind of time, especially on Sunday.

"Hello, this is the Hofferson resident; Linda's speaking." She stays quiet as whoever on the other line speaks to her. Linda raises an eyebrow before she covers the mouth piece of the telephone with her hand.

"Astrid! Ruffnut's on the phone looking for you!"

Almost instantly, she heard some banging coming from upstairs. Amanda is storming her way to the phone, heavily stomping her feet with a deep scowl on her face. Linda raises another eyebrow in amusement as her daughter angrily snatches the phone from her hand.

"WHAT!?"

It's not a surprise that Amanda has inherited her mother's booming voice, especially when she first came to the world. Beside Linda's colorful and extremely powerful words, Amanda's wails were earsplitting.

Amanda is massaging her tired eyes with her fingers as Rebecca rambles through the phone. Linda stays by the phone, curious at the conversation.

"Want to fill me in?" Linda asks when her daughter put down the phone with a deep tired sigh.

"Ruffnut's insists on going out."

"And what's bad about that?" Amanda glares at her mother who returns with half-lidded gaze.

"I just want to stay in bed for the rest of the day."

"You've been staying in bed for the past two days."

"It's school holiday; I can do whatever I want. And I already finished all of my homework," with over half of them probably incorrect.

"Then you should get out from time to time, enjoying the life outside your bedroom once in a while."

"Let me think about it… Nah."

"_Astrid_."

"Okay, okay! I'm going, I'm going." Amanda reluctantly goes upstairs to change. Linda shakes her head as she heads her way back to the couch.

"What is it this time?" Vincent asks his wife when she sits down beside him.

"It's Ruffnut, demanding Astrid to tag along with whatever she's planning. What did I miss?"

"The Glasgow serial killer strikes again."

"That bi-"

"I'm leaving! Bye!"

"-ch!"

"Have a fun time, Sweet Pea!" Vincent yells back at his daughter before he heard the front door shut close. He returns back his attention back to the television. "Did she take a bath before leaving?"

"I have no idea."

.

The entrance door of The Forge slams open, revealing two blonde and a brunette. One is amused, one is sulking, and one is angry.

"If I had known your real plan for today, I would've stayed in bed for the entire day," Amanda growls as she and the other two girls sit down on a table.

"What, it's not that bad," Rebecca reasons as she drops her face onto the table. That did not improve Amanda's mood though but giving Heather more amusement.

"_Right_. Bring me along across _five_ streets, walk down through _two_ entire parks, going _up _and _down_ the shopping mall by the _stairs_ and _repeat the whole thing_ just for you to stalk Eret. And then cries in the heap on the floor when you found him with another girl. And it's nearly _winter_, out of all season."

Rebecca wails into the table at the thought of her crush (Well, more of an obsession) Eret, real name Eric Erecton with another girl _beside _her. All of her fantasy had gone down the drain.

"Well hey; at least we had some fun," Heather provides trying to lift Amanda's mood a little bit, but all she got is a glare.

"Yeah, _fun_. Having a pair of sore feet and tired body is _fun_. We should do it more often because it's _fun_."

"Well at least you get to exercise a bit, to you know, get back in shape," Heather provides another and better one. Lucky for her, that made Amanda thinks for a bit and didn't immediately give a snarky comeback.

"Oh look, our favorite customers are here." Cathy comes up with a wide smile but quickly sweatdrops at the sight of the amused Heather, frowning Amanda and wailing Rebecca. "Ah… Did something happen before you arrive here?"

"Yes." Rebecca lifts her head, revealing a moist table and a wet distraught face. "Did you hear that?" she cups her ear in emphasis. The other three girls stay silent, trying to hear what she is hearing. All they received is the sound of bells jingling. "That's the sound of my heart broke."

"No, that's the sound of a new customer," Cathy says and turns her head towards the entrance door. "Correction: a new _regular _customer."

Hearing her words, Amanda raises an eyebrow in mild curiosity. She turns in her seat to look at whoever the new customer is. Both of her eyebrows shoot up as her curiosity changed into surprise.

"He's a regular now?"

"Ever since he came here days ago, yeah he is. He scared a couple of waitresses but he is still a customer."

The scarred man slowly heads his way to his seat, which is the same the last time Amanda saw him. He is wearing his eerie white coat, the same coat he left for Amanda days ago. And that dull green scarf is around his neck.

As soon as he sat down, a waitress comes up with the menu. Like before he just tapped the thing before giving it back to the waitress. She walks away with a sigh of relief after reading back his silent order.

"Why are you interested in him anyway?" Rebecca asks her, seemingly got released from her previous distraught state. Suddenly she gasps dramatically. "Are you cheating on Hiccup? You cruel naughty girl!"

"I am _not _cheating on _anybody_. And Hiccup's my _best friend_, dumbass." But what Rebecca said did make Amanda questions: why _is _she interested in him? Is it the reason that he saved her once before? Is it because of his scars?

Or is it because both of his dual gaze, a gaze that no living person should have?

"I have no clue myself," Amanda admits with a sigh. This time, Heather gasps dramatically.

"Have you finally found your soulmate? Is he your soulmate? Because from what I've heard if you're sexually attracted to a person for no apparent reason then that person is your soulmate."

"I do _not_ believe in that ridiculous stuff. And _no_, he is definitely not my soulmate in any shape or form. And I do not, by all means, _sexually _attracted to him," Amanda growls deeply at the brunette as veins popped on her temple. She then huffs tiredly as she rests her elbows on the table and massages her forehead. She is desperately wishing for her bed right now.

"Okay, I've been standing here _forever_. May I have your order? By the way, Toothpick's cash is separated from yours," Cathy says directly at Rebecca and Heather, not bothered by the groan coming from Amanda. "Her remaining ninety-five dollars are only used for her."

"So? It's my cash; I can lend it to either of them."

"No can do, Toothpick. They're not your cash." Cathy wiggles a finger at the thinner blonde with a smirk on her face. "They're _his_ cash, and he specifically told me to _"Choke you down with something" _using the cash he lend. I still hold on to the note as a proof."

While Rebecca and Heather groan when the chance of keeping their wallets full slipped away, Amanda returns her gaze back at the scarred man. No matter how much she tried, she still couldn't figure out why he gained her attention.

"Alright, now that I've covered the basic ground, _may_ I have your order, _please_?"

"Can I order for a_ bed_?"

"The east Asian special _Nasi Goreng "_King Sized bed" or the west Asian special _Nasi Goreng _"Lonely Virgin bed"?"

"I was merely joking."

"I'm not."

.

"Is there _any_ reason for you to show up here this late night? Let me guess: Ruffnut again?"

"You have no idea." No matter how much she tries, Cathy couldn't help but laughs softly at Amanda who has her slowly recovering face planted on the table in misery.

"The last time she did the same thing was like, a week ago?"

"_Three days ago_," Amanda corrects mournfully into the table.

"Why aren't you going home?"

"Too tired. Closest is here."

"Well I would love to give you a company but I have to walk home; sorry Astrid." Although she knows Amanda couldn't see it, Cathy gives her an apologetic smile. Amanda merely grumbles in respond. "Perhaps Gobber could give you a company since he'll be staying for a while."

"Sure…"

"You still have another eighty dollars in your pocket to put some bit of energy in you. But if you're kind enough, he might just give you for free." Amanda grumbles in respond. "I'll be going; sorry again. Bye."

It is late. _Very_ late. All thanks to _Rebecca_ who still wouldn't give up on Eric (and then once more cried in a heap in the middle of the pavement). The Forge is empty since it is closing time for the restaurant.

At the sound of the jingles on the entrance door signals that Cathy had just left. Amanda sighs very tiredly into the table, silently relief that she managed to sit down after _hours_ of walk, courtesy of the god damn _Rebecca_, _again_.

Never had she thought that mere walking could be tiresome. Well she is still recovering her "Fearless Astrid" strength and athletic skills, so right now she (begrudgingly admits that she) is weaker. Still with her face planted on the table, she heard irregular steps, consisting of "thumps" and "taps".

"Well if you ain't Ruffnut then you must be Toothpick." Amanda groans at the nickname given to her very recently. She turns her head and peeks up at the person standing beside her, holding something in his right hand.

"Gregory?" The said man bellows out a laugh.

"No one's ever called me that in years. The last time someone called me that was Stoick twelve years ago," he says in a very thick Scottish accent. "Please, call me Gobber."

The blue eyed man is quite rounded, very ample stomach and stubby arms and legs (To put simply: he's fat). He's bald but his long blonde mustache is tied into a pair of neat braids ('_Quite impressive,'_ Amanda silently noted).

But what got her attention are his left hand (well, a _mug_ to be more precise) and his right leg. Both are prosthetic, especially his leg; the basic definition of a peg leg. She stares at them, long and hard, trying to grow the same seed when she stares at the scarred man's… well, scars. Those prosthetics are similar to scars, right? She should've received the same feeling.

But no matter how much she tried – staring, squinting, glaring (the sudden quick change of gaze really made the amputee sweatdrops uneasily) – the seed didn't grow. The fear whenever she looks at the scarred man's scars didn't appear when she looks at this amputee's amputated limbs.

So it's not the scars that she feared.

"Uh… Is something wrong, lassie?" that snaps Amanda from her staring. She groans in respond and buries her face back into the table.

"Tired, feet sore, tired, sleepy, tired, anything more?" Her voice is muffled by the table but clear enough for Gregory. The amputee laughs softly as he sinks down into the seat on the opposite side of the table.

"So you're Astrid then. Camicazi says you complain a lot." To prove his point, Amanda groans once more. "Here; I bet you're hungry from all those walking, if I hear correctly." He puts down what turned out to be a plate of steak beef onto the table right in front of Amanda.

"Didn't bring money," Amanda murmurs into the table.

"It's on the house." After hearing his words, Amanda immediately straightens up and chows down her meal with the already prepared knife and fork. "I could give you a lift home if you want, lass."

The entrance door's bell suddenly rings before Amanda could give her answer, gaining Gregory's attention.

"Oh you're finally here! Gustav and Madonna need an extra hand in the kitchen. Try not to scare them." Whoever the person Gregory talked to follows his order heading for the kitchen. "I heard you had a sort of history with the man," he mutters to Amanda.

She looks up from her late night meal at him in confusion and turns her head to look at whomever the said man. She only managed to catch the one end of a dull green scarf before the man disappeared into the kitchen but it is good enough for her. She looks back at Gregory with surprised eyes.

"Aye, he started working here a few days ago as the janitor. He didn't say anything but he was gesturing the wanted note with his hand; well, what is _left _of his left hand, to be more precise. I have to say, he's doing his job very well very quickly."

Gregory casually places his hand – and his mug of his left hand – on the table, his eyes still on the kitchen door.

"He's a walking mystery, lass; never say anything, body movement so little. He's like an iceberg, drifting where the current carry him. Make a wrong contact with him and you pay the price, only leaving him with some scars yet strong enough to cause more damage."

Amanda slows down her chewing at the thought of the scarred man.

"What do you think happen to him? With all those scars?" Gregory shrugs and moves his eyes to Amanda.

"I don't know lassie. But like I said: make a wrong contact with him and you pay the price. Whatever business he had made before this probably has fallen; with him still standing while bearing those scars." He then shrugs once more. "But don't take my words for it. It's just a speculation."

_**CRASH!**_

Amanda and Gregory straighten up and turn their head towards the kitchen when they heard the crash. Gregory gets up from his seat and hobbles to the kitchen in a rush, Amanda close at his heal (after another scoop on the beef).

"What's going on here!?"

"It's her fault!" A teenage boy suddenly shouts frantically, pointing at a black-haired girl.

"W-what are you talking about, butthead!? You're the one who decided to be Darth _Penis_ using the butter knife that is the same size of you _di_-"

"Well at least I didn't steal some of the appliance here!"

"At least I'm not the one running around clanking pots and pans together _loudly_!"

"Says the girl who _howls_ in the _middle of the night_!"

"Why you little-"

"This is the reason why I never married," Gregory says to Amanda at his side, pointing at the rolling pair on the ground with his mug. "This and one other reason."

Amanda gives him a weird look, looking up and down. Somehow she doesn't want to know what that means.

"ENOUGH!" Gregory shouts at the top of his lungs. Gustav and Madonna untangle from each other and straighten up like a pair of soldiers. The ample man looks at the two for a moment, nothing something or someone is missing. "Where's the new recruit?!"

The scarred man straightens up from behind a table, now out of his coat and reveals his white long sleeved shirt, the sleeves folded up to his upper arms (his dull green scarf is still around his neck). He glances at Gregory and lifts his left hand nonchalantly.

There is a cleaver cutting the space between two of his fingers. It is now stuck in the middle of his hand. Blood runs down his scarred forearm but he didn't seem bothered by it.

"Right, now who's going to explain that?"

"It's her fault!"  
"It's his fault!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

_Hjartað stoppar (Hreyfist ekki)  
Kem gangráð fyrir (Sem ég kyngi og fel)  
Finn startkapal (og kveiki í mér)  
Sé allt tvöfalt (Tvöfalt svart)_

"_Hjartað Hamast __(__Bamm Bamm Bamm__) – __Ágætis Byrjun__"_

Amanda gasps slightly as she wakes up from her slumber from the shrilling sound of her phone. She silently wonders why she didn't put it on silent (cursed it for not being on silent although it is her who is at fault). She growls and silently hoping it's not Rebecca calling her (curse her even if she is not the one calling).

Looking at the name on her phone, it's not Rebecca, thankfully. But it is someone who she recognizes. She sits up willingly as she puts the phone to her ear.

"Hey, Hiccup." She's actually waiting for him to call her, and this is his first call after nearly two months.

"_H-Hey, Astrid. Good morning. Or good afternoon? Wait, what time is it there?"_

"It's afternoon," Amanda supplies. She would've smiled but the yawn interrupts it. She covers her fatigue with a hand.

"_Oh, it's Sunday there? Sorry to bother, I-I'll hang up now."_

"Wait," Amanda calls out in mid-yawn before Henry could hang up. "Is there a reason for you to call me, Hiccup?"

"_Oh, just checking and catching up." _Amanda didn't hold back a smile. He sure is a caring person, ever since they met when they were toddlers; a dork, a nerd, incredibly annoying, incredibly sarcastic, and nine months younger than her, still a caring person.

"_I would've face chat with you but I didn't have the proper hardware for it at the moment; maybe next time. I would've called you sooner but the time difference is quite difficult; morning to you and night to me and all."_

Amanda hums in agreement albeit tiredly. She had been thinking about calling him but not really sure when is the proper time. Right now, he may be calling her at an improper time but she's not going to complain any further than that.

"_But anyway, how have you been? I've heard you're not being well a few weeks ago." _At that Amanda sighs and hangs her head. _"Yeah, Fishlegs couldn't really get his mouth to himself; you'll have to forgive h-"_

"I'll murder that fat-ball when I meet him next time," Amanda mutters to herself, not listening to Henry on the other side of the phone, who sighs in defeat at her words.

"_J-Just… don't do anything physical to him, okay?"_

"You're expecting something else?" It's a bit astonishing that she is nearly as sarcastic as him, and he is the self-renounced most sarcastic person in the world. And Henry is silently guilty for it, for rubbing himself off on her (_definitely _not in the physical ways).

"…_Right, I forgot you're __Astrid__; you don't do "don't do physical"." _Amanda faintly hears something ruffles on the other side of the line, presumably Henry rubbing his shoulder. Amanda tiredly smirks – she's still groggy from waking up so don't blame her – at the thought of his bruised probably now healed shoulder, courtesy of her fist.

"So how's Toothless?" Amanda decides to change the subject, to which Henry silently relieved.

"_Oh the little guy is fine. He's still trying to get use to the new leg, though."_

On their last conversation, Henry had Amanda that he found an injured cat; a black Maine Coon cat, to be more precise. And to say that he is a "little guy" is downright incorrect. Because he is a Maine Coon, the newly named cat "Toothless" – for an odd reason or two – is a very large and very weighty cat. He's not fat; he's just naturally_ big_.

And Toothless has quite a personality. Amanda isn't really sure of that, but on their last conversation, Henry was arguing with him from the way he received meowing replies. If Toothless can talk, Amanda's sure that he might be as sarcastic as Henry.

"Anyway, are you planning on going somewhere far?"

"_Well, my mom is going to Africa soon. And knowing her, she's been not-so-subtly hinting that I should come along. And knowing her further more, she'll bring me no matter what's my answer."_

"What about your school?"

"_My dad's worked that out; you know how he managed to work things around and finding loopholes and stuff."_

"Is Toothless coming?"

"_I don't know; Africa's a bit too hot for a cat like him, but after what he had been through, I think he can beat the heat."_

"Alright then. Don't forget to bring souvenir." Amanda suddenly hears heavy rhythms, signaling someone's coming to her room. "I'm sorry for cutting our conversation short but I've got to go."

Just as Amanda cuts off the line, with Henry managed to bid her goodbye, her bedroom door slams open and reveals a frowning Linda.

.

"You're here daily," Heather comments as soon as she sat down on the other side of the table. Amanda looks up with half-lidded gaze and shrugs her shoulders.

"The place is attracting my attention a bit too much, I had to admit," Amanda answers as she chews on the pasta (there goes another ten dollars of her The Forge cash. Now how many she had left? She lost count).

"It's probably because of all lot of things happened here involving you. Hey, is that the "Pasta the size of your boyfriend's pe-"

"_Not. _Another. Word," Amanda growls out her warning. Heather smiles apologetically while raising her hands in surrender.

"So no plans for today before whatever happens tomorrow? No Ruffnut, no live chat with Hiccup, no anybody or anything?" Amanda shakes her head. "So why are you here?"

"I got kicked out of the house. My mom said I need to do something productive since I have the time and I can only go home later afternoon after six."

"Like what, stuffing your face with absurd amount of food? You're still stuffing your face with absurd amount of food? Are you still trying to get back into shape? I think you're already fat enough." Amanda didn't waste a meatball; she merely ate it and gives Heather a glare instead.

"I've got nowhere else to go. Hiccup's away from contact at the moment with his mother, and I don't want anything to do with Ruffnut; she had already gave me enough hell. There's no reason for me to hang out with Fishlegs and all I want to do with Snotlout is to punch him in the face. So my only solution is here in The Forge besides punching Snotlout in the face."

"This happens a lot? Got kicked out of your house, I mean."

"Almost all the time, because I sleep whenever I have the chance, especially on Sunday."

"So that's why you're always grumpy on Sunday."

"There are times where I wish today is Friday."

"So you can have F5 or "Free French Fries From (The) Forge"?" Heather asks with raised eyebrow (_"Or fffff to put it in another words," Cathy said while holding back a mirth, and failing at it_). The bells on the entrance door gain her attention. "Did I tell you about him starting working here?"

Amanda turns around in her seat to look at whomever Heather's talking about. Once again, she only saw the one end of a dull green scarf before disappearing into the kitchen but it's enough to know who that person is.

"Yeah, Gobber told me about him. He didn't say anything, like an iceberg as Gobber puts it." She turns back around and returns to her meal. Heather suddenly raises an eyebrow at her, looking at her up and down.

"You're not scared of him anymore?"

"Why is it everyone suspects of me afraid of him?" Amanda asks in exasperation, throwing her hands in the air to emphasis her words.

"Well, think about it; you lost yourself because of him, losing sleep and everything. Hell, you even said you were _hallucinated_. I mean, sure, faint hearts would probably run away screaming at the sight of him. I admit my heart nearly got ripped off from my chest when I bumped into him for the first time. A low angle shot of his face is terrifying, and his scarf was loosed that time." Heather shivers, pausing in her rant.

"But you… You're _Amanda "Astrid" Hofferson_. You don't scare of anything, so why _him _of everyone else?"

"I'm not-"

"Cut the _crap_, Astrid," Heather cuts her off almost angrily. "_Everyone _knows your fear of that man, even that guy over there knows." She points at a random guy who waves back in reply. "Your very own reaction already said it all. So stop lying and give a definitive answer."

Amanda stays quiet for a long time, suddenly lost interest in her meal. Even after a minute has passed she didn't reply.

"It's…" she starts hesitantly as she drops her fork on the half empty plate. Finally, she sighs with finality. "Initially, I thought it was the scars, but now I know it's not." Amanda pauses, causing Heather to lean in expectedly.

"So what is it?" she asks with curiosity. Amanda sighs for the second time.

"Do you fear death?" The question caught Heather off guard.

"Well, yeah; anyone does. Are you saying you saw death in him, or are you confused him with Death?" Heather half-jokes half-asks. Frankly, she doesn't know how to express the question correctly. There's nothing to joke about death, or Death.

"The former is close to home." The sound of the kitchen door opens gains the girls' attention. The scarred man is carrying a mop in one hand and a bucket in the other. He goes somewhere and starts mopping the floor. "I saw it in his eyes."

"Well you know what they say: to overcome your fear, you have to face it."

"Who quoted that?"

"Myself?"

"Congrats; get yourself an A plus."

"Thanks Lieutenant Sarcasm."

"No problem Sergeant Sass."

The two girls share a high five for being on the same page before returning their attention back to the newly hired janitor. Heather looks back at Amanda, frowning and intrigued.

"You fear him, yet somehow you are attracted to him, like a moth to a fire." Amanda didn't reply; she abandons the table and heads straight for him. Heather smirks and leans back as she watches the scene about to unfold, secretly steals and eats the abandoned pasta on the table.

She cries on the inside as she chews on the meal, for not having a boyfriend in her life.

.

"Good morning," Amanda greets politely. The man stops in his mopping for a moment and glances at her. She didn't directly looking into his mismatched eyes, only the bridge of his nose to avoid them. But Amanda could see he narrows his eyes at her. He nods his head in silent reply.

"I didn't know you worked here." Amanda tries to start a casual conversation with the man, trying to make him to speak; if he ever speaks. The man just slightly shrugs his shoulders and returns back to mopping the floor.

That's it; let's just fire the gun.

"Do you ever speak?" To answer her question, the man pulls down his dull green scarf, revealing more of his scarred and disfigured face, and lifts his head up to reveal his neck. There is a long vivid scar, from one side of his neck to the other.

His throat had been cut.

"Oh…" Amanda only managed to utter a single word when she saw the scar. The man pulls the scarf back up to his chin before continue mopping the floor. As he moved away from her, Amanda takes a deep breath.

Like what Heather told her earlier, and in a nutshell: _"FACE HIM!"_

"Do you know sign language?" She returns back to his side and hesitantly looks into his mismatched eyes. He pauses in his mopping and gives her a half-lidded dual gaze (Amanda resists the urge to flinch) while raising his left hand, entirely covered in bandage and missing a few fingers.

Amanda didn't pay any attention to his hand; she raises her eyebrows of what she sees in his mismatched eyes, finally looking into them.

"Well no, but I can try."

This time, he raises his eyebrows in surprise of receiving a reply from her.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

_Þú kveikir í mér  
Ég kveiki í þér  
Nú kveikjum við bál  
Brennisteinna  
Logá_

"_Ísjaki – Kveikur__"_

Heather raises a curious yet confused eyebrow.

Amanda and the man seem to have a staring contest with their eyebrows rose high. She couldn't hear what the two had said earlier but whatever Amanda said seems to taken the man by surprise.

The man puts the mop back in its bucket and leaves it there before turning back towards Amanda, giving her his full attention. The two stares at each other for a moment before Amanda speaks. Then quiets down and stares at each other once more. And then repeat the whole process.

Heather's eyebrow twitches at the weird interaction. All it seemed is that Amanda did all the talking and the man's just… stare at her. Yet Amanda still talks to him… like the two are having a conversation.

Heather would've said a _one-sided _conversation, but from the way Amanda's gesture after each "staring contest", and from the way the man's very small gesture during each "staring contest" the two are _really_ having a conversation, somehow.

Unsurprisingly, it doesn't takes quite a while for the "conversation" to finally end. Heather didn't say anything as Amanda slides back into her seat. All she ever does is giving the blonde girl a weird stare.

"What?" Amanda asks in confusion when she noticed her look.

"What… were you doing with the man?" Heather asks slowly. "To say that he and you were talking is… a little off the mark since you did _all_ the talking."

Amanda didn't answer immediately; in fact she seems to pause for a moment to think for a suitable answer, or an _answer _in general.

"Frankly it's a little hard to put down on paper. We were having a conversation-"

"With you do all the talking?" Heather interrupts her.

"Let's just say he has another way of saying his words. That's all I can explain." Heather isn't quite satisfied with the answer, feeling there is more to it than what Amanda had said. But maybe she's right; maybe it's a little hard to put down on paper. She returns her gaze back at the recently recruited janitor.

The man is motionless, just standing there with, like always, an emotionless expression on his partial hidden face staring into the space in front of him. Then he shakes his head before grabbing the mop and continues his duty.

"Where did my pasta go?"

"U-uh… I uh…"

.

"I told you he's your soulmate."

"For the last forty-six _thousand _times, he is _not_."

"But you understood him."

"Because one of my family members spoke his language, sort of."

The two blonde girls are at the school cafeteria, waiting for the rest of their friends while having their lunch. While having their meal, Amanda glares heatedly at Rebecca who smiles innocently.

Apparently _Heather_ and her big mouth had been spreading the news of her and the man's weird interaction, which is not good especially prior to a recent conversation about "soulmate". Rebecca is giving her more hell than ever before.

"Sort of? Are you sure?" Rebecca bats her eyes at Amanda, earning her an even more heated glare but she isn't wavered a single bit. In fact, she enjoys every moment of it. She'll receive large amount of bruises but it's worth it.

"If you want this, all you have to do is ask." Amanda holds up an angry fist with a wide toothy smile. At that, Rebecca gives in; she lifts her hands in surrender with apologetic smile. Right on time, Fredrick, Heather and Trevor arrived, including Sean, which is a big surprise.

"I could've sworn my ears would fall off if he talked for the next ten minutes," Trevor says to no one aimlessly as he jams a finger in his ear, grimacing a bit. Fredrick, Heather and Sean mirror his expression.

"You're late," Amanda says as they sit down in their seats.

"Yeah, sorry; the teacher took extra time to finish the current topic," Heather replies as she takes out her lunch.

"Yeah; _"Backh een zhe dayz, zragons were ezizt, vlying around with riderz unn vheir backh led bah zhe zhief of Berkh." _He wouldn't stop repeating the line!" Trevor shouts as he pulls his hair in frustration. Everyone ignores him.

"I heard you've connected with the man yesterday." After hearing Sean's teasing words, Amanda glares angrily at Heather who innocently munches on her food, ignoring the glare.

"Oh, pray tell me what she told you," she inquires, using more Grammatik English than required.

"Nothing much; just said that you've somehow understood him with him not saying any word."

"Are you sure nothing more than that?" Amanda asks in mock kindness and intrigue places her elbow on the table and supports her head with her hand, giving the brute brunette a half-lidded gaze. Sean would've liked the gaze, if he had not known the meaning behind it. He swallows his food a little too hard than usual and then he clears his throat.

"Is he your soulmate?"

"Are you kidding me!? You too!?" Amanda covers her face with her hands and lets out a muffled groan of despair.

"Well obvious there's a spark ignited between you two; you can't deny the fact. You already said it: you somehow could understand him while _no one _can," Rebecca points out, doing a wild gesture with her hand.

"And like I told you _many times_, one of my family members spoke his language, sort of."

"And what do you mean _"sort of"_?"

"W-well… He doesn't _really_ speak the same language like one of my family members does but he has his own way of speaking." Everyone at the table narrows their eyes at her, giving her a suspicious look not quite believing her words.

"Are you _sure_ about that?" Amanda gives another, louder, groan. Initially, she thinks they are just joking around the subject, but now… they seem to take it a tad too seriously. It's just unbearable.

"Just… Just… Just _drop_ the subject, could we?" Amanda asks them – almost begging – with as least venom as possible as she massages her forehead.

"We'll continue this on a later date." At that, Amanda groans in dismay but slightly thankful that she does not have to go further into the subject, at the moment. "So, you'll be joining us later?"

"Yeah, why not?" At that Rebecca smirks at Amanda.

"wanting to meet your soulmate again, sweetie? OW! Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

.

Amanda rushes forward, leaving her friends behind as they head for The Forge, mainly she doesn't want them to give her a smirking teasing look. The first thing that Amanda searched when she enters The Forge is none other than the man she is looking for. But the first person that greets her is a girl that is mistaken to be her twin.

"Good afternoon, Toothpick. Are you here to eat or here for the janitor?"

"The janitor."

"He's sitting right over there. Gobber insists on him taking a break for a while." Cathy points at a table on the opposite direction where Amanda and her group of friends usually sit. At the said table sat the man she is looking for, with a mug of hot beverage on the table, if she couldn't tell from the steam rising from it.

Amanda thanks her near identical twin before making a beeline for the man. Upon arriving at the table, Amanda notices that his black hairband is on table and his bang is down. His scarf is loose and his eyes are closed, highlighting the multiple scars on his face.

She almost completely forgot about those.

"Good afternoon," Amanda greets as she drops into the chair opposite to him. The man cracks an eye open and narrows at her. He nods his head in reply instead of "verbally" and then closes his eyes once again. "Am I interrupting your time?"

He opens an eye, the good eye, and gives her a blank look. Amanda suddenly frowns while glaring at him slightly.

"You don't have to be so mean. Can't I just trying to get to know you?"

The man blinks blankly.

"MJ much?"

It wouldn't take an idiot to know that after hearing her reply, the man definitely said "beat it". Amanda glares at him for that respond but she continues on.

"Do you have a name? Surely that even without a voice you still have a name."

The scarred man responds by giving a small card to her. Amanda knows this gesture; whatever the card is, it's surely had his name on it (it wouldn't take an idiot to know that). She looks down at it eagerly, wondering what this mysterious man's name is.

Her eye twitches at the name.

"Ha… Han…naiee… eee… eetur… Rem… Rem…bih… bigh…nut?" Amanda did probably the greatest cringe ever written in history after pronouncing the name.

What is written on the small card is _Hnýtur Rembihnút_. Even without the accentuated letters, Amanda could tell it's not English. She doesn't know what language it is; probably in the European region.

Hanaieetur Rembighnut (Amanda makes another history altering cringe just at the _thought_ of her own pronunciation of his foreign name) grabs the card with two fingers and flips it around. What's written on the other side of the paper is _"Nee-tur Rem-bih-newt"_. Amanda raises her eyebrows.

'_So that's how to pronounce his name. I didn't know it's that simple,' _she thinks privately to herself.

"_Nee-tur Rem-bih-newt_. What language is that?" She looks up into his eyes and then suddenly frowns. "How comes you don't know your own name?" She then narrows her eyes in suspicion. "Or is it because you don't want to tell?"

_Nee-tur Rem-bih-newt _shrugs his shoulders slightly. Then he stays motionless.

"Oh, you're wondering how I can understand you." He nods his head slightly. He seems to minify his movement; all of his movement. "I'm not sure. It's probably because my grandpapa; mute and didn't learn sign language no matter how much my mom persuaded him. So he "spoke" using exaggerated movements, especially with a spear I don't know where he got from. Everyone used to call him "Silent Sven". You used almost the same way, except…"

She stays silent and looks up into his eyes. When she first saw those eyes, all she could think of was her deceased uncle; not because he reminded her of her uncle but the gaze of his lifeless body.

Now, they are filled with a little life, especially his right eye. It's shocking that over a month ago those eyes once scared her to have nightmares, and until yesterday she refused to look at them, flinched whenever she did, and now…

"You speak with your eyes," she says with a bit of astonishment. He shrugs his shoulders again and the two pauses in their conversation. The silence falls on them minus the chattering and clanking around them. Amanda then looks back down on the small card and flips it over as the man sips his slowly cooling drink.

_Hnýtur Rembihnút_

"Slightly mouthful to say your name, doesn't it? How about I just shorten your name?" The man raises an eyebrow but Amanda continues. "How about _"__Hný__"_? Or maybe _"__Tur__"_?"

She suddenly goes quiet when the man gives her another half-lidded gaze.

"No I don't instantly make up nicknames for people I _just_ met," Amanda protests with a hiss to hide her embarrassment. "It's just… for other's sake, you know? You could see how hard I _tried_ to pronounce your name. How many tongues do you think have twisted just by _trying_ to say it?"

The man gives her another blank stare and she gives him a glare. She huffs and then looks back down on the card, scrunching her face in deep thought at the foreign name.

"How about _"Rem"_?" She suggests, with a tone that she prefers this one than the other. She expects him to shrug his shoulders but the scarred man merely blinks his mismatched eyes. For the first time since the two met Amanda smiles.

"Then Rem it is." She holds out her right hand towards him for a handshake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Rem."

_Rem_ looks at her hand for the longest time seemingly debating with himself. Amanda still holds her hand out, patiently waiting for him. He takes a deep breath before hesitantly lifts his hand and holds hers. They share a light handshake. He looks back up and locks eyes with her.

"_**The pleasure is mine."**_

* * *

**Just to be clear, this is not an AstridxOC fic. Our dear Hiccup boy will take that role in the future (Spoilers!)**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

_Ég halla þig á, í ró  
Það stóð allt í stað, og þu_

"_Svo Hljótt – Takk…__" _

"_So how's the new friend?"_

"He's fine, and it turns out he's a normal human after all."

Like he had promised before, Henry and Amanda is currently now having a live face chat with each other. Both wouldn't admit it, but they had been missing seeing each other's face. Henry's been silently missing the sapphire blue eyes behind those golden locks of hers. Amanda's been silently missing those emerald green eyes behind those somewhat annoying black rimmed glasses of his.

"_You know Fishlegs said that Ruffnut and Heather had a bet involving you and him, right?"_

"About whether I go to meet him or not yesterday, and the informant is Camicazi? Yeah, I do know that. They consulted with me beforehand."

"_I can't tell whether you're being sarcastic or not."_

"Look who's talking." Henry ignores her last statement and continues on. And besides, she's not wrong.

"_So do you know his name? For a normal human he should have a name, right?"_

His best friend didn't answer immediately or verbally. Instead, she takes out a small note and a pen and writes something down on it; the man's name, Henry concludes. She holds it up to the webcam's view so Henry could read it.

Instantly, his eyes twitch from the screen (Laptop? Desktop, maybe? Amanda doesn't really know or really care. At least Henry's there).

"_W… What is that? Is that his name? And are those smudges? How am I going to pronounce that?"_ His reaction is a little bit similar to Amanda, but he is smart enough to not instantly say out the name.

Not like a certain blonde girl.

.

"ACHOO!"

The blonde girl sneezes without holding back, right in front of her customers (half of them in horrified expecting to be infected). Some people in the small restaurant jump in their seats at how loud her sneeze was, half almost had a heart attack.

"Someone's talking bad about me." Cathy rubs her nose, making a face while at it, almost disgustingly, making a lot of people cringe. She flicks her hand away, not bothering where her snot might end at. The recently hired janitor/cleaner wipes away her snot from wherever they had landed.

.

"That _is_ his name. And no, those are not smudges. And this is how you pronounce it." Using the same paper, she writes another thing down on the other side of it.

"_I didn't know you recycle paper."_ Amanda ignores his comment and returns the paper to the camera's view, so he could read the proper way to say the name. "_Nee-tur… Rem-bih-newt_?"

"Yep."

"_What language is that?"_

"I don't know. And he doesn't know either." Henry gives Amanda a weird look, narrowing his eyes behind his black rimmed glasses slightly in confusion.

"_He doesn't know his own name's origin?"_ Amanda didn't answer, merely shrugs her shoulders as she removes the paper from the camera's view. Henry looks thoughtful at the pronunciation of the name, and then at the real name, _Hnytúr Rembihnút_.

"_It's a bit mouthful to say isn't it? Nee-tur Rem-bih-newt_._ How many tongues do you think had twisted just by trying to pronounce his name?"_

"That's why his new nickname is just "Rem". And he seems to like it." Henry couldn't help but nods at the shortened name. It's much easier to pronounce than _Hnytúr Rembihnút_.

"_That's marginally better than his long name. I just wonder how he's going to pronounce it." _Amanda suddenly frowns at Henry's words; a thought comes to her mind.

"Interesting thing, though; he can't seem to say proper names, for some weird reason, like Amanda, Henry or Heather."

"_So how's he going to talk about someone or other?"_

"He just described their appearance or their job. At least, that's how he pointed at Camicazi and Gobber yesterday. He called Gobber _"that big braided mustache guy"_ and he called Camicazi _"Your twin waitress"_. Other than this, I don't know. Simple nicknames maybe?"

""_Maybe__"_?"

"I'm still getting to know him, you know. I know a little about him doesn't mean I know everything about him."

"_Well geez, sorry Missy. I didn't mean to push your buttons; I was merely asking."_ Silence envelops on the two for a moment. _"You know…"_

"Yes?"

"_I'm still wondering just how you understood him. Fishlegs told me that Heather told everyone that he has another way of saying his words that no one literally heard. Like, "He can't seem to say proper names"? How did you even know that?"_

Amanda sighs but she is not surprise. Henry can be very persistence if he wants to be. Not only that, what he said is right; people has been wondering how she understood the silent man.

"Did I tell you about my grandfather?"

"_Silent Sven? You told me that he used wild gestures with a spear to speak. You still haven't told me about__ where __he got the spear."_

"Well Rem used similar way. But instead of using wild gestures, he speaks through his eyes."

"_But… just how can you know he actually… well, speaks?"_ Henry asks furthermore, frowning a bit since it's not clear enough for him. Amanda thinks hard, trying to put it down on paper.

"It's like reading a book. You don't know the tone he or she is using. Either the author gives it to you at the end or the beginning of the speech bubble or you put it in yourself. I read his eyes like I read a book, and he is all monotone because I don't know what tone he is using. I don't know if he's being sarcastic, demanding, angry, sad or happy. Only from his words I know his tone but it didn't help much."

"_Because every word one says is like coated with sarcasm? Yeah, I get that a lot."_ Amanda would have given him a harmless punch (which is by no means harmless on any level, this is Amanda "Astrid" Hofferson we're talking about here) on the shoulder if he is right beside her right now.

"Does that satisfy you enough?" Amanda asks the nerdy redhead. He frowns, thinking for a bit.

"_Yeah, I could live with that."_

"Good." Amanda stays quiet for a while, staring at the image of Henry on her laptop, who scratches the back of his neck, nervous at her sudden silence. "Any news on when are you coming back?"

Henry stops in his action and sighs. With the same hand, he smoothen the hair on the back of his head, didn't give Amanda the answer for the moment.

"_I don't know, Astrid. Even Mom and Dad didn't know when we're going to return to Berk. It's not soon, that's for sure." _Amanda swallows her sigh in disappointment.

"Well, I've got to go."

"…_Okay."_

.

"_**It is nice to see you again, fawn." **_Rem is sweeping the floor when Amanda entered The Forge, and he greeted her at the door with a single glance. Amanda's eyebrow twitches at the last word, feeling slightly confused at it. Is he calling her an animal?

"Good evening, Rem," she greets back as she walks to her table (which is suspiciously empty for a reason or two. Gregory had probably reserved the table only for her or her friends; she'll thank him later).

"_**Your friends are not with you, fawn?" **_Rem asks when he noticed that she is alone here once more, to which Amanda shrugs her shoulders, while silently twitches even more at the name.

"No; I'm on my own, again." Suddenly, a thought crosses her mind. "You know that does sound a little bit suspicious. Ever since I've start meeting you, they're not coming along with me to The Forge like they used to." Amanda then gives him a suspicious look. "Have you done something to them?"

Rem shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly and returns back to his sweeping, breaking eye contact with her. He done it almost suspiciously but that's might just be his way; she barely knows him anyway.

"Is there anything else you've done besides sweeping the place?" Amanda asks him as silently waits for a waitress, or Cathy, to come.

Rem didn't reply; he still keeps his back towards her, not even bother to turn around to face her. He is even still on his sweeping with the broom like she didn't even say anything.

"Hey, I'm talking here!" Rem turns around and makes eye contact with her, subconsciously pulling up his scarf a bit, hiding parts of his scars from view.

"_**Apologies; I am still not used to this kind of conversation." **_Amanda blinks in understanding. She couldn't blame him for it; he probably had never two ways conversation before. And truthfully, she is not used to this kind of conversation either.

It will be a while for the both of them to get used to this kind of conversation.

"Oi, Rem!" The man with said name turns towards the speaker, along with Amanda in curiosity. "You've been sweeping the entire place over three times already. You'll sweep away the _floor _if you continue on. Sit down and take a break, would you?" Gregory gently orders the new recruit with a polite smile. Rem grabs both the broom and dustpan and walks away but turns towards her at the last second.

"_**I will be right back." **_Rem disappears through the door that states _"Blacksmiths Only"_.

At first, Amanda is confused why Gregory puts "blacksmiths" instead of "employees" until she realizes that the name of the restaurant is _The Forge_.

It didn't take long for Rem to return, with a steaming beverage in his left hand. He slides into the seat on the opposite side of her table.

"_**Is there anything you need, fawn?" **_He asks as he takes a drink from his mug and narrows his eyes at her.

"Well, first of, stop calling me that! I have a name, dumbass." Amanda glares at the man before her.

"_**Are you saying your name is dumbass?"**_

"No, idiot!" She walked right into that one.

"_**So it is idiot then." **_And that one too.

"For goodness' sake, it's _Amanda_!" She is feeling incredibly annoyed with Rem, almost as much as she is annoyed with Rebecca, but not _as _much.

"_**It is not like I can pronounce it without saying it; you already know that," **_he says as he sips his drink nonchalantly.

"Then it is Astrid," Amanda replies like it´s the most obvious thing in the world. Rem lowers his mug slightly, slightly raising an eyebrow at her.

"_**The flower?"**_

"Yes, the _flower_." Rem puts down his mug on table and thinks for a moment.

"_**Sorry, I cannot do that. It does not fit your profile in any shape or form."**_

"Well that's ironic, because _"Fawn"_ also shares the same description."

"_**I think not, fawn."**_

"Well why "fawn" anyway?"

"_**I remembered the first time we met at your school. The way you froze in fear reminds me of a deer in the headlight. Well you are too young to be a deer, so you are a fawn. End of story."**_

"Can't you think of something better?"

"_**It is either fawn, toothpick or pain in my ass. You may pick whichever is your favorite of the bunch."**_

"You…" Amanda grits her teeth together in frustration as Rem casually returns to his drink. She then sighs in defeat and hangs her head. She takes a sip of her drink as she looks back up to his eyes, staring intently into them to know whether he has another thing to say.

One might say she is staring a little too intently, almost creepily. Another might say she is going to bore a hole through his face if she stares too long with that intent stare.

"_**Well, toothpick is already taken by your twin waitress so it is either fawn or pain in my ass." **_He shrugs his shoulders as Amanda glares at him once more over her mug before sharply putting it back down on the table.

"Are you always this mean?"

"_**I do not know. I had never spoken to anyone before you."**_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

_Við sáum öll svo margt  
Mátum allt allt upp á nýtt  
Dagur síungur líður  
Já, rifjast upp og núna man_

"_Við Spilum Endalaust – Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust"_

"So Astrid, trip visiting your family?"

"You stalking my family again, Ruffnut?"

"Girl, you had been visiting your family _every year_. And it always happened around this time," Rebecca gives the fact casually. Amanda sighs tiredly.

"We're already packed for the trip, and will be off two days from now."

"You're looking forward to it?"

"You already know the answer."

"Mhmm. So Astrid, how's the new friend?"

"Yeah, you didn't elaborate about him."

"He's a new friend. That's all. Am I not allowed to make new friends?"

"Well, there is nothing wrong in making friends, per se," Heather starts off carefully. "It's just this new friend of yours is leaning a bit to the mysterious side. Okay, he's leaning _way_ into the mysterious side for him to be normally normal. And being the curious girls we are we're a bit curious."

"Have you ever heard the phrase "curiosity kills the cat"?"

"But satisfaction brought it back," Heather adds smoothly with a proud smirk. Amanda's not impressed, though.

"Come on, Astrid," Rebecca buds in, placing her elbows on the table. "We all know how close he and you had become. How come though? Like what Heather had said, he's very mysterious and how you've gone closer to him is another mystery."

Amanda scratches then back of her neck. She seems to look for the answer to herself too. Then she shrugs her shoulders.

"I… don't actually know. How do I actually become friends with either of you?"

"You and I got our hair stuck on a locker together one day and had a competition whose booger is bigger."

"I buried your face in a mop and mistaken it for your dreadlocks."

"R-right," Amanda stammers at their straightforward answers with straight face. She realizes that statement is also one of the few reasons why they became friends.

"You know, you and him are pretty close for being new friends," Rebecca reverts back to the topic, trying to act nonchalant but suspicion seeps through her voice. "Is there something we should know about?"

"Other than the fact he is not my soulmate or boyfriend or lover… I'm not quite sure…" Amanda says unsurely. "I mean… the last time I'm having this kind of… relation is with…" she pauses as her facial expression softens. "…with my Uncle Finn."

"Are you saying he is the reincarnation of your uncle!?" Rebecca shouts as she shoots up from her seat, earning attention from other customers while the man in attention politely ignores them.

"Pipe down, dumbass!" Amanda hisses as she harshly slaps her elbow before dragging the blonde down to her seat. "He is definitely _not_ the reincarnation of Uncle Finn. Besides, Rem's already born before my Uncle passed away… I think."

"Long lost brother, perhaps?"

"I don't think so. My entire family is blonde; his hair is black."

"Genetic mutation is not uncommon, Astrid."

"Still, I highly doubt he's my long lost brother."

"So he's definitely your soulmate."

"He. Is. Definitely. NOT!" Amanda is baring her teeth dangerously at her companions, veins visibly throbbing at her temples. The other girls at the table raise their hands in forfeit, accompanied by apologetic smiles.

"Chill, girl; we're just messing with you," Heather says carefully as she places a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

It works, but only a midget amount; the baring teeth are still present.

"Like we'd said before, it's just that the guy is a little too mysterious to be hanging around you casually. We can't help but connect unrelated dots together and be concerned."

Amanda sniffs disdainfully but decides to forgive them. She wouldn't blame them for their suspicion, and concern. If she is in their position… well, she wouldn't give a single damn whose guy they are hanging out with.

Except for Rebecca. She gives a damn about who she _wants_ to hang around with, because of how much trouble she caused.

"Hey, can any of you accompany me for a while I do my homework I seemingly forgot?"

"I don't know, Astrid. We're kind of a bit tired from all these walking and stuff."

"Says the girl who stalked a guy for five hours straight for three straight days," Amanda retorts sharply, but Rebecca is unaffected, nonchalantly waves a lazy hand in reply.

"Why don't you just do it here?" Heather replies, which Amanda shakes her head.

"It's a little too crowded for me here. Besides, the food and drink here is a massive distraction; I'll spend more time inhaling in meals than my homework."

"No surprise there."

"So, any of you-"

"Nope."

"Nu-uh."

"Seriously?" Amanda scowls at her two intentionally slumping companions. "I'm asking nicely here."

"Why don't you bring your new friend there?" Rebecca points with a lazy finger. Amanda looks over and sees Rem on the opposite side of where she had last seen him sweeping, with his back facing them. Her scowl deepens a tad.

"Fine then; I'll bring him. But you'll answer to this if Gobber is demanding where his janitor has gone to."

She abruptly stands up, slugging her bag on her shoulder and makes a beeline for the scarred man. She grabs his arm roughly and pulls him backward towards the door. The broom drops to the floor with a clap and he maintains a look of confusion until he and Amanda exit the restaurant, still processing in what is happening.

"Well… That worked."

.

_**"You did not give me the chance to grab my hairband and my hair is obscuring my already limited vision."**_

"Stop complaining."

Amanda and Rem are walking down the pavement, trying to find a place. Well, more like Amanda is looking for a place good enough for her and dragged Rem along with her. She kept pulling him when he tried to walk the other direction.

"I forgot to ask; what were you doing in school ground back when we first met?"

_**"I was trying to apply for the janitor there; I did not get it, as you can see."**_

"You know you need, like a form to apply for a job, right?"

_**"There were some restaurants or pizzeria at the southern hemisphere that hired night guards on the spot, because the previous ones got killed by robots."**_

"You take that out from an indie game or something?"

_**"I could be. I have to comment though, your principal is a bit odd but nice; wearing a bucket on his head, somehow has a smooth long beard and has the attention span of a sparrow, but still nice."**_

"I also saw a glimpse of you in the news that same afternoon, with the car crash."

_**"Firstly, a kitten belonged to a little girl is trapped inside; I had to rescue it, police be damned. Secondly, I really like cats, police be damned. It is still a wonder why I am not questioned for crossing the tape line. They had probably not realized it."**_

"And how old are you?"

_**"Twenty-two this year."**_ He responds by holding up two fingers on both of his hands in case she couldn't read his words, which in fact she could.

_'Uncle Finn died eleven years ago. So he is not an incarnation.'_ Then, her eyes trail to his left hand. The bandage is already removed, leaving behind a noticeable scar on his already scarred hand.

It surprises her a little bit that she didn't flinch back from the sight.

_**"Is there a reason why you need me and not your friends?"**_ he asks as he lowers his hands back to his side. Amanda barely caught his words if it's not the fact she almost tripped by an uneven pavement and sent her face to it in a split second.

She silently curses in frustration. It's hard to read his words while trying to walk at the same time, you know; paying attention on two things at once is not an easy task.

"None of the girls wants to join me today," she asks after regaining her balance and looks up to him, just as she caught what he is saying.

_**"Quite a familiar situation."**_

"I don't want to bring Snotlout – the guy with black hair – because he thinks with his knee or that thing that is a bit higher than his knee."

_**"His thigh?"**_

"No. A bit higher."

"…_**His upper thigh?"**_

"You know what I mean. Fishlegs – the big one with blonde hair if you remember-"

_**"It is hard to forget his size."**_

"He's spending time with his family at the current moment. And my best friend is off the country." Rem raises an eyebrow at her, looking very surprise.

_**"A best friend, you say? With an abusive girl like you it is a bit of a shock to find out you do have a boy to be very close to you. Is it probably because he is a foreigner and had never find out you are as abusive as you are?"**_

Amanda didn't hold back the punch she throws at him, landing on his upper arm. The punch isn't strong enough to cause him to stumble, but strong enough to cause him to lean away from the force.

"_**Like I said; abusive."**_

Amanda harrumphs but didn't say anything more. She reaches out and grabs onto Rem's elbow when he's about to break off from her to the opposite direction. Rem releases a silent sigh as he gets dragged along.

.

_**CRICKET! CRICKET!**_

Amanda has brought them to the national park: Raven Point. For some odd reason or two, the place is completely deserted. There are no children running around, joggers jogging around, or whatever people are doing at the park these days; chasing digital creatures called Puki-something or whatever that thing is. It's probably from cartoons or stuff. What is that thing again?

_**CRICKET! CRICKET!**_

The only ones there are Amanda, Rem and a little tiny dude that decides to give them a little of its tiny company. Unfortunately for the little guy, Amanda is not happy with its tiny yet noisy company. It's really getting onto Amanda's nerve.

_**CRICKET! CRICKET!**_

Rem wouldn't mind, though; he is a little bit curious of the tiny creature. In fact, he is very amused at how much its presence causes so much trouble to his female companion and secretly enjoys it.

_**CRICKET! CRICKET!**_

"That damn annoying thing is damn annoying," she says through her teeth in frustration, the pencil she's holding begins to crack from her deathly grip. Whatever she is writing is putting into a halt. Rem looks down at the said annoying creature with mild interest.

_**"Maybe it is your conscious trying to give you the answers to your current problem,"**_ he comments, to which Amanda read from the corner of her eyes. She stiffly shrugs her shoulders, her facial expression twitches at the sound of-

_**CRICKET! CRICKET!**_

"Or maybe my conscious-in-the-form-of-an-infuriatingly-annoying-cricket is showing its presence to mock me about my forgotten homework," she replies through her teeth, barely able keeping her temper in check. "It's not the first time it ever does that."

_**"In cricket form?"**_

"Annoying me."

_**"…In its cricket form?"**_

"_Annoying. me_," she stresses as veins begin to p-

_**CRICKET! CRICKET!**_

The graphite end snaps, causing a black eyebrow to rise at her. Her fists shaken at her barely contained anger. Suddenly, she drops her head onto her barely written homework.

"Ugh, this is not helping at all." She didn't bother to look up at what Rem replies; she's a little too mentally exhausted to even move physically. "Why am I even here? Why aren't I just do the homework at home? Why is my conscious mock me in the form of an annoying _cricket_?"

She could feel that Rem is speaking to her, and has something to say; a snarky comment, no doubt about it. Despite that, she moves her head so she has a clear view of his eyes. And the man in question is glancing at her with raised eyebrows.

_**CRICKET! CRICKET!**_

"_**What I want to know is why did you drag me along with you?" **_Rem looks back at the small company and experimentally lifts a foot.

"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate my own conscious?"

_**"Just by seeing your reaction already said enough."**_

_**CRICKET! CRICKE-**_

_**CRUNCH!**_

_**"…I think I just killed your conscious."**_


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter 11_

_A simple view, is it you?  
To know in everything you do now  
It's alright  
To say that you are your own again  
To sing this song_

"_Saint Naïve – Go Live"_

It is snowing, which means winter is here; a season Amanda really likes and really hates at the same time.

"Astrid!"

On one side, there is so much fun in winter like snowball fights, snowmen – "Snow-dragons are much cooler," a glasses-wearing redhead said to her through live cam the other day – and sledding.

"Astrid!"

But on the other side, she must endure the bone-chilling cold, blackouts and getting stuck in home by piling snow _while_ enduring the bone-chilling cold and a blackout. And this season, this year, winter does not doing well to Miss Grump-ferson.

"Amanda!"

The said Grump-ferson is curling into a ball under her three and a half covers _and_ her two and three quarter pillows. Yet all of those didn't help her fight back the cold. She is still trembling and her teeth are chattering against each other. She silently curses Jack Frost and Elsa Whatever-her-last-name-is (or is it Anna? Wait, which one is it again? It's not Rapunzel, is it?).

"For goodness' sake, _AMANDA_!" her mother booms from downstairs, shaking the entire house from her raised voice. Amanda gives a shivering sigh and very reluctantly pries herself from her bed.

She still has her three and a half covers around her, still trying to fight against the cold. She climbs down the stairs, one step at a time, at a pace slower than a snail, with her upset mother waiting at the base of it.

"What took you so long? I've been calling you the last ten minutes! And Sunday is _two days ago_." Clearly Linda is quite upset over something.

"You called me?" Amanda asks half-mindedly, snaking her hand from her failing cocoon only to snake back in to rub the tiredness from her eyes. Linda huffs and holds out the telephone to her direction.

"Heather called, demanding for you. She said she's calling your phone the last hour." Amanda groans but takes it from her mother anyway. She put a mental note to turn her phone on next night but she admits that she'll forget about it anyway.

"What?" she whines through the phone.

"The season's not doing good on you, Grumpy?" Heather teases on the other side of the line.

"It's too cold for me, Ice Queen. And whatever you are offering, you are not going to talk me into it."

.

"I can't believe you've talked me into this."

Amanda, Heather, Cathy and the twins are on their way to the shopping mall. All of them wear thick clothes to fight against the cold, with Amanda the thickest. Yet she is the only one who is shivering.

"I know my way around you," Heather smiles sweetly at the miserable looking blonde beside her. "And besides, we should hang around more with each other. Who knows what might happen tomorrow."

"I shouldn't have come," Trevor says silently to himself, kicking the snow lightly to mirror his mood.

"You'd been insisting earlier to join along!" his twin sister shouts into his ear, to which he retaliates with a shove.

"I thought the guys would join along too!" Then an all-out brawl occurred between the two twins. Fredrick would've joined them but he is a bit busy with his sick uncle, and Sean is with his father at the gym. So Trevor is feeling a little awkward being the only guy in the group.

"So how's your trip visiting your family? I'm sure that's a whole lot of fun." Amanda groans as Heather smirks. "Well you should've seen this one coming."

Basically, Amanda was forced to join her parents to visit her family out of town, taking advantage of the holiday. She was at Norway for two weeks, visiting her mother's side of family before spending another two weeks at Scotland, visiting her father's side of family. It was incredibly tiring for Amanda.

"I don't want to talk about it," Amanda says with finality, putting the topic to a stop before Heather could take it any further. "I thought you'd be working at The Forge," Amanda directs her statement at her suspiciously looking twin Cathy.

"I took the day off just for this. Besides, I do need to get out sometimes than just serving people."

"Did Rem show up?"

"In the exact routine; yes," Cathy affirms before suddenly frowns. "I tried to bring him along but he turned me down, even though I've been selling your name over and over."

"Don't use me as part of your blackmail scheme, Cami." Amanda gives Cathy a cold glare (with no pun intended in any way or another, I swear) before a cold breeze swept over them, intensifying her shiver by another fold and dropping her glare.

"You two done yet?" Heather calls out behind her towards the twins. Rebecca and Trevor untangle themselves and get to their feet before giving the brunette a thumbs-up.

"Let's have lunch at The Forge once we finished this." It's another way of saying how Amanda wants to visit Hnytúr Rembihnút.

.

When the warm air rushes towards her when she enters The Forge, Amanda couldn't help but releases a sigh in satisfaction. Somehow the air inside The Forge is cut off from the harsh world outside, seemingly warmer than anywhere else.

Probably because The Forge is as hot as the forge. (**A/N: *pat self on the back and self high-five***)

Almost instantly, she scans the entire restaurant, searching for the black-haired man that seems to stand out amongst the crowd. At the same time, she and the rest go to their usual table.

"Good afternoon, may I take your order, please?" one of the waitresses asks politely with a smile, holding a notepad and a pencil. While everyone gives their order, Amana keeps silent and still scans the place with eagle eyes.

"Astrid; the food, the drink, or the janitor?" Cathy asks with silent muse, noticing her scanning eyes.

"The janitor," Amanda answers almost immediately, like the answer is automatic to her.

"The last time I saw him is in the kitchen washing the dishes," the waitress provides helpfully since she too knows the relation between Amanda and the janitor.

"Go on then, I sure Gobber wouldn't mind you visiting him." Amanda quickly leaves her seat almost instantly after Cathy finished her sentence, heading straight to the door that labeled "Blacksmiths Only".

"You know, "janitor" doesn't really suit his role, with him cleaning almost everything in the restaurant; a cleaner is a bit closer to home."

.

She peeks through the crack of the door, feeling like she is intruding something big and dirty secret. She hears the sound of fries cooking, spatulas clanking, liquids filling up and Gregory's accent voice.

"He's at the back, lass," Gregory informs when he noticed her blonde hair from the door. "Try getting him out, can you? He hasn't taken _any_ day off."

"I'll try," Amanda says hesitantly, not quite sure herself. After all, she is still getting to know the mysterious guy. As she heads in deeper into the somewhat big kitchen, she could clearly hear the sound of dishes clanking and running tap water.

Following the source, and after surprisingly a few navigation ("Why would Gobber ever built the kitchen like this?") she finally arrived, his white coat is off, his sleeves rolled up and his back facing towards her. Yet the dull scarf is still around his neck.

"Good morning, Rem." He stops in his washing and turns his head towards her, squinting at her. From the look in his eye he is genuinely surprised, although he barely shows it on his face.

_**"Good morning to you too, fawn." **_He turns off the water tap and fully turns towards her, giving her his full attention. _**"I did not expect you would ever visit again."**_

'_I forgot to tell him that I'd be gone for a while a month ago.'_

"Why would you ever say that?" Amanda frowns, feeling slightly hurt that he doesn't trust her, but like him she didn't show it (because she is Amanda "Fearless Astrid" Hofferson). Rem shrugs his shoulders.

_**"You are the first person to ever bother visiting me in a long time."**_ Amanda frowns even deeper.

"When's the last person to ever visit you?" Rem didn't answer immediately. He even looks thoughtful, as if he is finding his answer.

_**"A long time ago."**_

Amanda got this feeling that sentence should have a big emphasis. Maybe there is but because he did not verbally speak and speaks through his eyes. Well, more like Amanda read his eyes and actually understands him.

"Well I am not going to leave a friend behind me; I am not that type of girl." Rem merely raises an eyebrow at her, but didn't comment. "Come on; Gobber wants you out of the kitchen."

_**"I do not need to, fawn; I would prefer to be here than out there,"**_ he says as Amanda firmly grabs his arm and starts tugging.

"That's not a request, Rem." Amanda turns away, cutting off the conversation, and pulls harder, causing the man to stumble. She could feel Rem is resisting but then he gives in, causing her to smirk victoriously.

She grabs his coat when she passed it and throws it at him silently while still pulling him.

.

_**"-old, fawn?"**_

"Wh-what?"

_**"Are you feeling cold?"**_ Rem repeats when Amanda looks at his eye more properly. The shivering blonde girl shakes her head stubbornly.

"It takes more than just cold wind to take me down," she says through chattering teeth while hugging her body tightly. She silently regrets over the fact that she has to go outside again but pushes the thought aside as silently as it came.

Suddenly, she feels a weight dropped onto her shoulders and she feels slightly warmer; not much but enough to make a difference. Rem had given her his white coat.

"Rem, you don't have to give me this," Amanda says as she begins to take off the coat but Rem presses his hands on her shoulders, keeping the coat in its place. The two stop in their tracks.

_**"You need it more than I do, fawn. Besides, you're freezing."**_

"But..." Rem gives her a blank look. Amanda sighs in defeat and pulls his coat around her tightly to fight the cold. Although not the right color in the winter, it's warm enough for her. "Are you sure you're okay with only that?" She points at his clothing with her chin.

He only wears his white long sleeved shirt, his white pants (_'What is this guy's obsession with the color white?'_ Amanda silently muses) and that dull scarf of his. Despite the simple clothing, he is not shivering a single bit although he did pull up his scarf more.

_**"I will manage,"**_ he says, with Amanda caught the sentence at the corner of his eye. _**"I am more used to the cold than you are anyway."**_ Then he looks at her with narrow eyes. _**"And it would not be the first time that-"**_

Rem suddenly disappeared follow closely by the sound of a heavy thud. It turns out that Rem had slipped on a frozen puddle, and now sprawling all over the ice emitting a silent groan of pain.

Amanda, still taking in the scenario, trying her best to hide her smile, even as far as holding both of her hands on her mouth to hide it. Unfortunately, Rem saw everything and gives her a glare.

_**"A little warning would have helped," **_he says as he carefully gets back to his feet with the laughing Amanda's miniature help.

"What? I was communication with you," she retorts between mirth as Rem brushes away the caught snow from his clothes.

_**"What did I slip on?"**_ he asks, squinting at the ground on his feet. Amanda didn't know whether to put confusion or curiosity in his tone.

"What else in this season? It's ice, dumbass. Can't you see?" Surprisingly, Rem shakes his head.

_**"Only got an eye to see, and it is not unharmed,"**_ he says before straightening up, now squinting at Amanda. The blonde girl silently reminds herself that Rem has three large claw-like scars on his face before she frowns in return.

"You can't see very well?" Rem shakes his head. "So this whole time with you squinting is...?"

_**"To see more clearly, yes."**_

"Oh..." Amanda says airily. "Why don't you get a pair of glasses?"

_**"I do not need one,"**_ Rem replies as they continue on their walk. _**"The jobs I took recently did not require much precise visibility. Although it makes my jobs a little more difficult, I still get the jobs done."**_

"So you cleaned the entire restaurant just to make sure you had cleaned everything?"

_**"Yes,"**_ Rem affirms. Suddenly, Amanda is struck by an idea. She immediately checks her wallet, silently notes how slim it is. Then she remembers her shopping earlier and completely forgot her bags. She sighs in dismay.

"Hey Rem, did you bring your cash?" Rem looks at her with a raised eyebrow.

_**"With extras, just in case. Any reason why, may I ask, fawn?"**_ From the words he used and the look in his eye, Amanda could tell he is suspicious.

"No, reason; I'm just asking." The suspicious look didn't disappear from Rem's eye.

.

_**"For the last time, fawn, I do not need glasses."**_

"Stop complaining and start wearing the damn thing, brick head."

Amanda had dragged the reluctant Rem to a shop earlier and insists him on getting his eye scanned. Lucky for him, the shop is selling the right spectacles for him. Now, Rem is being stubborn and reluctant.

Finally, he sighs in defeat and slowly dons on the newly acquired narrow glasses, tinted with very light green hue for style.

_**"Happy now?"**_ he asks and looks down at Amanda, who smirks victoriously.

"How does it look (unintended pun, I swear)?" she asks him curiously. Rem raises an eyebrow and gives her a calculative look, without squinting or whatsoever.

_**"You're uglier than I initially expected."**_ Amanda gives him a glare and sends a fist on his chest, to which he rubs.

"You're meaner than I initially expected," she retorts as Rem takes the glasses off from his face and looks down at it for a long time. "So you're going to wear it?"

Rem didn't answer immediately, seemingly lost in thought. Then, he shrugs his shoulder and puts the glasses back on.

_**"I do not want all those trouble goes to waste,"**_ he replies as he pays the cashier, who silently stares at his facial scars curiously.

"Why did you pick the green one?" Amanda asks curiously as they exit the shop. She pulls his coat around her now that she is facing the cold once more. "Not to judge but there's a different array of colors including the colorless one. But you chose that one instantly."

_**"The color green is the first color I ever saw, as far as I can remember,"**_ Rem replies as he fiddles with the glasses, still not used to it at the moment.

"Oh. Do you remember where did you see green?" Amanda's curiosity pikes a little more. She's getting to know this man more and more.

_**"It is the eye color of what I presumed my cat companion."**_

"What happened to your cat?"

"_**I do not know. She might run away or she died from old age."**_

.

"Look, Astrid's back," Rebecca points out lazily when Amanda and Rem enter the restaurant. She, along with everybody else at the table, is leaning back against their seats, with empty plates on the table.

"Aww, is the big man being courteous to you by lending his coat to you so you won't get cold? How cute," Heather teases with a giggle when she noticed Rem's white coat around Amanda's shoulders, looking very baggy around her teen form.

"Hey, has the dude got a new look?" Trevor asks with an undisguised curiosity when he saw the new addition to Rem's physical form. All eyes land on him as he scans them one by one through his narrow green glasses.

"Yeah, he bought himself a new glasses," Amanda gives while keeping her glare on the unaffected Heather, who has her eyes on Rem. "It turns out he has sight incapability this whole time," she reveals as she takes off his large coat and hands it to him.

Rem gives her a blank look as he drapes his coat on his forearm, then fiddles with his glasses more in slight discomfort. Amanda frowns at him, almost glaring at him.

"I didn't _demand_ you to buy the thing. You bought it yourself. I was merely _bringing_ you to it." Heather and the others know that words are actually exchanging instead of Amanda arguing with a mute man, but it really looks quite amusing.

With a silent huff, Rem turns around and walks to the "Blacksmiths Only" door, leaving Amanda behind.

"Wait, no- You come back here, Rem! I am not done with you!" She chases him through the door, her voice still loud and clear.

"You know, now that he wears glasses, he seems a little more..." Cathy trails off absentmindedly, remembering back the scarred face before, and now with the newly acquired glasses that partially hide the scars.

"...Human."


	12. Chapter 12

**A fair warning of what is about to come. Detailed gore content below. Skip or read at your own cost.**

* * *

Chapter 12

_Brennum lófa innað beini  
Svíður í hönduna_

_Við biðum  
Það svíðum_

_"__Kveikur – Kveikur__"_

_**"Like last time, fawn, you did not give me the chance to grab my hairband and my hair is obscuring my already limited vision; and my glasses too."**_

"Like last time, Rem, stop complaining."

"_**You are really fond of dragging a helpless man around, do you not?"**_

"Shut it."

Amanda and Rem are walking down the pavement, with Rem having absolute zero idea where the blonde girl dragging him. Like last time, she kept pulling him when he tried to walk the other direction.

"_**I am going to ask and ask again, where are you dragging me?" **_She gives him a creepy smirk. She reaches out towards him and grabs a handful of his long black locks, loose from his absent hairband.

"We are going to have a haircut. And by "we", I mean _you_," she informs, tugging his hair intentionally harder than she intends to, causing Rem's head to tilt. He narrows his eyes at her.

"_**You have absolute zero respects for adults, do you? And why do I need a haircut, may I ask? Is it wrong for a masculine man having a long hair?" **_Amanda raises her eyebrow at him, tugging on his hair once more before letting go.

"You look dumb with your hair in your face," Amanda comments as the pair separates for a classy woman to pass them, who smiles at them sweetly. They didn't mind her.

"_**That is the point of having a hairband, which is, by the way, I forgot to bring along with my glasses you insisted I bought when you persistently dragging me along with you."**_

"You look like a girl with long hair."

"_**You do realize one of your male friend had long hair that people mistaken him for his sister, correct?"**_

"Still, you look dumb."

"_**At least it does not look dumb as your face."**_

"Are you trying to roast me, Rem?" Amanda raises an amused eyebrow at him.

"_**Is that what kids say it this day? Roast?" **_He requires with a light tilt on his head. _**"Now I am hungry for a roasted chicken."**_

Before he could even think about turning around, Amanda grabs a handful of his hair and tugs painfully hard.

"Don't try to run away, Rem. You are going to get your hair cut."

"_**You are really fond of inflicting pain on a helpless man, are you not?"**_

"Helpless man? Nah, I'm too kind for that."

"_**I beg to differ."**_

"On a man like you? I wouldn't even think twice to do so."

Before Amanda could read his words, she hears a loud smack and Rem suddenly fell on the ground. Before he even fell, her worlds suddenly turns dark.

.

The first thing that Amanda feels when she wakes up is a splitting headache, which causes her head to swirl and unable to tell the difference which is up and which is down. The next thing she feels is the binding around her wrists and ankles. Still with the splitting headache, she forces her eyes to open.

She's in a living room of a house; a very lovely house, to be more precise, and beautiful too. She would have found the place to be calm and peaceful if it isn't for the fact she is bound to a chair that is a little too fancy to be tied on.

She wouldn't be more panic than she is if it isn't for the fact Rem is in the same position as hers and sitting opposite to her.

"Good morning sweetie," Amanda hears a soothing voice. A middle aged woman comes in to the living room, wearing a red dress and a beautiful smile on her lips, the same woman earlier that passed them. She carries something in her hands but due to her headache she couldn't see it properly. "It's good to see you finally awake."

"Where... am... I?" Amanda asks drowsily as the woman approaches the table to her right and spread something on it.

"You're in my home," the woman replies simply and Amanda could hear something metallic hitting each other from her direction.

"Why...?" Amanda's words die off and replaces with a pained groan. The headache is very bad for her.

"Nothing to worry about," the woman replies, still with her soothing voice and turns around to walk up to her. "I'm just doing what I have to." Amanda couldn't tell properly but she swore she sees a small knife in her hand.

Before the woman could do anything to her, an audible sigh is heard, and it's coming from neither of them. Rem has woken up.

.

He tries to shake his head but immediately regrets it when it amplifies the headache. He tries to shift but found himself restricted.

"Ooh, he's awake," he hears a soothing feminine voice, with a hint of excitement in the tone. He pushes the headache to the side – received so many injuries in his past so he is used to it – he slowly looks up, between his locks, squinting to clear his view.

A woman in red greets him smiling excitedly right in front a horrified and bound Amanda. He notices a glimmer on the woman's right hand and now noticed she is holding a knife. He straightens up and stares at her face with a blank look.

"Hello, handsome. And may I say; you have such a lovely face." The woman runs her free hand on his face, lingering on his vivid scars. He didn't flinch away, merely staring at her blankly. "What is your name?" she asks kindly, still staring with fascination on his scars.

Rem, having his voice gone, merely replies with a light snort. The woman frowns before her eyes trail to his neck and gasps at the scar with horrid fascination.

"Oh my..." she whispers as she trails her fingers very lightly at the scar. Rem takes advantage of this moment to communicate with Amanda, who tries to get herself free.

_**"Are you okay?"**_ he asks when she made eye contact with him. She nods but winces a bit, signaling she still has her head throbbing. _**"I need you to keep her busy for the moment. I can get myself out of this."**_

With much lesser bones on his left – he didn't _just_ lose his two fingers; he had lost the entire finger bones structures – he could squeeze his hand out from whatever binding him; a rope or something.

Amanda looks a little doubtful at his suggestion, but seeing that she had failed at her attempt at escaping she finally nods.

"Who are you? And what do you want from us?" Amanda's demand gained the woman's attention. As soon as she turns around Rem immediately trying to get his hand free.

"I'm Melisda DeLouis. And don't worry; I don't need anything from you," the woman replies casually. Rem frowns as he struggles on; getting his hand free is a bit harder than he expected.

"What are you going to do us?" Amanda asks more, still trying to buy some time.

"Oh I am going to give you happiness," the woman says cheerfully.

"With a knife?"

"Of course; who wouldn't want to smile when you're forever happy, right?" The woman spins the knife in her hand before she turns around to face Rem. He immediately stops his action, so he won't look suspicious. He gives her a blank look.

"You've been frowning all day, mister. So, I'll start with you." She bends down until her face is inches away from him. "But I couldn't help but admire all these..." Her eyes scan all of his scars with undisguised adoration.

Out of sudden, she suddenly cuts the trail of flesh on the corner of his mouth, causing him to flinch, but she didn't stop there. She nicks both corners of his mouth, not too deep but not too shallow.

"There, that's not so bad." She straightens up and admires her work for a moment. Then, with no warning, she plunges the knife into his abdomen.

"REM!" Amanda cries out and the woman glances at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Rem? That's an interesting name you have there, Mr. Rem." The woman turns her attention back to Rem to smile sweetly, but instead she blinks in surprise.

Rem barely reacts to the stab, merely having his bloodied lips twitches. She twists the knife inside him, creating a squelching sound, but he only curls his lips and nothing. That is not a reaction she is looking for.

"Scream," she orders as she twists the knife even more, but Rem refuses. At that the woman starts to frown, almost scowling. She pulls the knife out and plunges it back in, but Rem didn't give her the reaction she wanted.

Finally, she pulls the knife out and places it at the corner of his mouth, and starts slicing.

.

Amanda couldn't see her work, but she from how Rem struggles in his attempt to get away and the sound of a blade cutting through flesh, it must have been stomach tights and turns.

"You have really forced my hand, Mr. Rem," the woman scolds him as she straightens up. She wipes the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand before she walks back to the earlier table. Amanda couldn't hold back the horrified gasp when she sees Rem.

He is bending down and his hair hanging from his face with his entire body is trembling in agony. Half of his body is covered in red, _blood_, soaking his scarf, shirt, coat and his pants. Her stomach churns at the sight of him, but what had made her throw up is what the woman had done to his face.

She had cut his cheeks, from the corners of his mouth up to his ears. And now, his jaw is hanging from his face. Her body shudders after the bile exited her mouth but she looks back up at him.

"Rem..." she calls out in a whisper. His shoulders are going up and down although trembling, so he is still here. "What... have you... _done_ to him?"

"I gave him happiness, a smile," the woman replies as she returns back to Rem, now carrying a long knife in her hand.

"A _smile_? You gave him a _smile_?" But when she looks at the cut once more, she notices something. "A Glasgow smile... You're her... You're the one who murdered all those people." At her words, the woman looks hurt, as if Amanda had wounded her.

"I didn't murder all those people. Like I'd said, I gave them happiness." Before Amanda could open her mouth, the woman plunges the long knife into Rem's abdominal wound. He twitches in his seat in agony.

"STOP YOU LUNATIC BI-"

_**TAP!**_

"-CH!" Despite her roar, Amanda had heard a single tapping sound coming from Rem, like an embedding sound.

"I've missed your spine, it seemed." The woman straightens up and backs away from the twitching Rem, revealing the long knife embedding inside his abdomen a little too deep.

She had pinned Rem to the seat by the freaking long knife.

"No worries though; I have more plans for you, Mr. Rem." The woman pats his head, almost lovingly, before walking back to the table once more.

"Rem," Amanda calls out, trying to move her gaze away from the hilt. "Rem," she calls out once more. He slowly lifts his head; his jaw sways slightly and morbidly. They made eye contact. "Are you okay?"

_**"Keep her busy,"**_ Rem says instead of answering her question, before he starts fidgeting once more. It took Amanda a while to realize that he is still attempting to break free.

"Now, as for you, miss, we hadn't has a proper introduction. You already know who I am, and now may I inquire who are you?"

"Someone who's going to kick your sorry ass, motherf-"

"No need to throw such rude words."

"Then you should've brought a bar of soap to clean my mouth." Amanda spits at the woman's face with a sneer. The woman scowls at her as she wipes the spit disdainfully.

"Fine then; I'll ask Mr. Rem about you. Oh Mr. Rem, would you kindly tell me what is her name?" The woman turns around to face Rem before she slaps a hand on her forehead in realization. "Dear me, I forgot you couldn't talk."

"For someone who recently put a "smile" on his face, you sure have the attention span of a sparrow."

_'It seems almost everyone has the attention span of a sparrow,'_ Amanda thinks to herself, slightly amused at the fact. The woman waves a hand away before returning her attention back on her.

"I guess we don't have the acquaintance to know each other." She said it like it really saddens her. "I shall continue then without any more delays." She holds up the bloody knife and smiles sweetly at Amanda.

Her throat tightens up, stopping her from speaking, from delaying her end of time. She struggles against her binds as the woman lowers to her eye level, but she couldn't break free.

She leans away but the woman grabs her head and pulls closer, having much more strength than her. She delicately places the knife on the corner of her mouth and starts to apply pressure.

Then, Amanda eyes trail to behind the woman, and widen to dinner plates. Rem had broken free, and is now holding up his dull scarf. Amanda looks back at the chair he is once bound to. The knife is still embedded on the chair, and is entirely covered by blood, including the hilt.

Rem had _ripped_ himself out from the knife.

He wraps the scarf around the woman's neck and immediately sweeps her legs off from her feet, causing her to fall and startle out a yelp. She would've fallen on her face if it isn't for the scarf, and Rem takes advantage of the moment to make another loop around her neck.

He pulls her back up, turning around and presses her back against him and bends down. The serial killer is exposed and vulnerable, and she has nothing to support her.

Rem pulls down the scarf really hard and she croaks out painfully as she struggles to break free but no avail. Over time, her thrashing becomes weaker and weaker and finally, her entire body goes limp on Rem's back.

He didn't bat an eye when the freshly dead body fell to the ground. Limping, while holding his wound - a _hole_ through his abdomen - he walks over to Amanda and releases her from her binding, not bothered by his hanging jaw.

_**"Call someone," **_he orders her instantly before she could blink. Still with her mind numb from the sight just now, she complies silently, searching for her bag. Once found it, she pulls out her phone and calls whatever number comes up, which in this case her mother's.

* * *

**A slightly unorthodox chapter but I was out of my mind when I wrote this one. Hope you enjoy the gory image.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

_Ég anda  
Sem betur fer_

_"Ég Anda – Valtari"_

Amanda clicks off the phone with a sigh, relieved that she is still alive, relieved that she still got to hear her mother's soothing – albeit booming – voice. Her mother had been worried sick, even more worried than she had ever before. And after hearing her encounter with a serial killer didn't bode well for her and Vincent.

After doing a little looking, Amanda found the house address and requested her mother to send help. She would've done it herself but she is a little bit too shaken to call the cops at the moment. And somehow she is feeling quite tired.

A heavy thud suddenly gained her attention. Amanda realizes that she is not alone and Rem is there with her.

The said man, his ghoulish white clothing are now entirely covered in his blood, is sitting on the floor with his back against the wall with his right hand is holding his wound on his abdomen.

He didn't bother holding up his hanging jaw, just letting it sways freely by his movements. But that doesn't mean Amanda's going to let it. Looking around to help Rem, the first thing that caught her eyes is his worn scarf.

It is still wound tightly around the woman's neck. Amanda hesitates from taking it off, but she goes for it anyway. Trying to get the scarf off from the wound is a little harder and a little more morbid than she thought. She had to lift the body a bit to unwound the scarf, she is not light a single bit. She caught a glimpse of the woman's dead hollow eyes.

Immediately, her beloved Uncle Finn flashes in her mind. She flinches, unintentionally drops the body but manages to get the scarf free. She blinks a few times to clear the image away, even shaking her head wildly. She takes a few deep breaths before looking down at the scarf in her hand.

It is almost completely soaked in blood, _Rem's_ own blood. There are significant numbers of tears there and here, probably from the sheer force of how hard Rem had pull it, while badly wounded.

The thought of Rem suddenly brings her back to the ground. She immediately dashes to his side and kneels down. Rem is slouching against the wall with his head bows. She would've thought he's already dead but his raising shoulders tell otherwise.

"Rem...?" Amanda calls out softly. He raises his head and stares at her, squinting a bit between his long black locks. It took Amanda a moment that Rem had forgotten his glasses and his hairband at the restaurant. "I don't have any knowledge on this aid stuff whatsoever, but I do know we've got to do something with... your jaw."

She stares at his hanging jaw for a long while, feeling a little sickening that his tongue is still moving. Rem nods his head and braces himself, closing his eyes even.

Very carefully, she eases his jaw up, trying to cause the least amount of pain for Rem. Once in place (the words themselves feel a little morbid to say) Amanda winds the scarf and ties both ends on top of his head. She also pulls his hair back to keep it away from his face. She let go slowly and silently notes that his jaw had stayed in place.

"How're you feeling?" Amanda touches his shoulder gently, but the mere movement nearly makes Rem collapsed to the floor. "Rem!" She caught him at the last moment and stabilizes him, her heart pumps a thousand miles per hour. "Rem, stay with me."

Amanda puts her hands on his wound when he is too weak to do so. Then he slowly opens his eyes, unfocused but clear enough for Amanda to read his words.

_**"Do not worry, fawn. It is impossible for me to die; especially this easily."**_ Amanda frowns at him, a little confused at his statement.

"What do you mean?" He didn't answer, merely staring into space and continues breathing; a bit labored but still breathing.

_**"You know, this scarf is the first gift I had ever received in my whole life,"**_ he suddenly starts as he starts to slump back. Amanda stays silent; a part of her thinks this is probably how he's coping with the pain, while another part of her wants to listen to his story, wanting to know this man a little more.

_**"Of course, I had received some others later on; not a lot though but this is the only one that lasted this long."**_ His eyes begin to flutter, and Amanda begins to panic. _**"The sad thing is, I do not remember who gave it to me, and I am sad that I had to let go of my last gift."**_ His eyes slowly closed just as Amanda faintly hears multiple sirens.

"Rem? Rem! Stay with me, REM!"

.

"AMANDA! AMANDA DARLING!"

Judging by how high the policemen and women jumped in the air by the thunderous voice, and by the thunderous voice itself, her parents have arrived.

"GET YOUR F-"

_**CAW!**_

"-ING HANDS OFF OF ME. I WANT MY DAUGHTER!"

"Do you know her?" an officer asks her, wincing as he digs his ear with the little finger.

"Yeah, she's my mother."

"WHO DO YOU THINK I AM, BI-"

_**QUACK!**_

"-H!? I. AM. HER. MOTHER! FU-"

"Excuse me?" the officer asks; the wince on his face intensifies, yet Amanda didn't seem to be affect by it.

"She's my mom!" Amanda yells loud enough for the slowly growing deaf officer. He heard her and signals his colleague to let the married couple pass. Linda and Vincent rush over to her (after Linda flips the bird at the officer who held her back earlier).

"AMANDA! SWEETHEART DARLING!" her mother cries thunderously and multiple instruments fall onto the ground almost immediately. "How are you, my sweet, _sweet_, baby girl?"

Mom..." Amanda whines when her mother enveloped her into a heartbreaking hug, although she is silently thankful for still alive to receive the hug. "I'm not a baby."

"What happen? What's going on? Why are you kidnapped? Who'd done it? Where is he? Where is she? Who's with you? Let me kill that son a bi-"

"Mom, Mom; I'm fine." Amanda pats her mother's back in assurance, and smiles at her father in the same way. "But..."

"BUT!?" Linda pulls back and stares at her with wide eyes. "BUT WHAT!? BUTTER TOAST?! BUTTSTABBER!?"

"Rem..."

"Rem? Who's Rem?" Her parents look confused. It takes Amanda a few seconds to realize that she had never told her parents about Rem.

"Did you remember about the time where I passed out in the middle of the pavement?"

"It permanently scarred our mind. Why?"

"Well, I had been seeing him ever since, building a bond with each other. We became friends and all this and that... you know, typical friends gaining thing." She takes a deep breath, trying to push away the image of his face earlier.

"His name is Hnýtur Rembihnút; Rem for short. He was with me when the bi-"

_**HONK!**_

"-h kidnapped us. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here right now. But..."

"But...?" Her father tries to encourage her. Amanda takes a few more seconds to breathe deeply.

.

"Why didn't you tell us about this, Sweetie?"

"And have both of you hunting him down just to say thank you for saving me? Nah, I wouldn't risk it."

According to the medic on site Amanda didn't have a concussion, and beside bruised wrists and ankles, she is perfectly fine and is free to go. And with her parents, they are heading their way straight for the hospital.

"Excuse me," Vincent gains the attention of the nurse behind the counter. "Where can I find Hnee..." He quickly spins around to seek assistance from his daughter.

"Hnýtur Rembihnút." The nurse frowns at the name. With Amanda's assistance, she looks up at the name.

"I'm sorry; the person you are looking for is not here."

"But he had arrived here earlier." The nurse frowns even more in confusion.

"Perhaps if you describe his appearance might help."

"Tall, black hair, multiple scars on his face, mismatched eyes, a circular wound on his ear..." The frown instantly lifted from the nurse's face and a look of shock replaced it.

"The John Doe?" Amanda is taken by surprise at the shocked tone the nurse used. "_The_ John Doe? You know him? For how long?"

"Well, we've only met a few months ago."

"And this name, Hnýtur Rembihnút, is his name?"

"Well, that's what he gave me." The nurse types madly through her computer, taking in as much information as she can get.

"What's your name?"

"Amanda Hofferson."

"What's your relationship with him?"

"Well nothing much; we're just friends." More furious typing on the keyboard before the nurse dials a number on the telephone.

"What is going on?" Vincent asks his daughter, confused at the nurse's sudden behavior. Unfortunately for him, Amanda is as confused as her father.

"I have no idea. And who's John Doe?"

"It's a name given to a person with an unknown name, at least that's what I think," Vincent replies a little less confidently. "I thought John Doe is only used to those with ranks."

"Frankly no. It applies to anyone. Anyway the John Doe, or Hnýtur Rembihnút, had just got released from his surgery. A doctor is coming here to bring you to him."

As soon as she finished her sentence, a double door swings open and reveals a panting doctor, still wearing his bloodied surgery gown.

"Doctor Vance, this is probably the fastest time yet," the nurse comment in surprise as the doctor takes off the gown and mask and approaches the Hoffersons. "This is Amanda Hofferson. She has a connection with the John Doe."

"It's... a pleasure to meet you... I'm Dr. Elivant Vance... and... give me a sec..." Dr. Vance hunches over and tries to regain his breaths. He then straightens up and looking a little more composed than before, albeit a little bit sweaty.

"Pardon me," he says in a more composed voice. "I got a little excited over the fact there is something to know about our current John Doe. Come with me; I'll lead you to him."

.

"How much have you known about him?"

"Nothing much; he barely revealed anything about himself," Amanda answers as she walks behind the doctor, with her parents at both sides of her.

"I am very shocked that... what's his name? Rem, right? Anyway, I am shocked that he has a connection, let alone a friend. We never had seen any visitor for him before you, and we never expect any too."

"Why is he a John Doe?" Vincent buds in.

"He never told us his name, which surprised us because he told _you_ his name. Why is that, may I ask?"

"I'm... actually not quite sure. It's probably because I'm the first person ever to ever have a conversation with him for a long time.'

"The John Doe- I mean, _Rem_, is a constant patient to this hospital, "visiting" at least once per month."

"What do you mean?"

"He gets injured, quite frequently."

Amanda then remembers about the incident back at The Forge a while ago, where Rem had a cleaver through his left hand.

"He does not like being confined in the hospital, so most of the time he bailed almost immediately after treating his injuries." From the tone Dr. Vance used, he is pretty much annoyed at Rem's bailing behavior.

Dr. Vance leads them to a room, probably where Rem is at. The room reveals an empty bed, with Rem nowhere to be found. The IV bag is there and the thing-a-ma-jig ("What does that thing call again?" Amanda asks anyone who heard her) is flat-lining away but the patient is out.

"Yes, he bailed again," Dr. Vance sighs tiredly and not surprised. "I seriously don't know how he managed to run away with those injuries of his." He then turns toward the Hoffersons. "I'm sorry for the inconvenient but you have to go home for the moment until we found him. It might take days but we'll call you as soon as we found him."

Although disappointed not getting the chance to meet Rem, the Hoffersons give their numbers and head home. While on the road, Amanda is thinking where Rem would be.

Coming up empty handed, she shrugs her shoulders; Rem could take care of himself. Although, those wounds of his...

She immediately scans the neighborhood for the sign of him while silently impressed that Rem could still walk around and acts like nothing is wrong.

She then remembers about his scars and from the tone Dr. Vance used earlier about how frequently he "visiting" the hospital. Maybe to him, nothing _is_ wrong because of that fact.

.

_**RING! RING!**_

_**RING! RING!**_

"Hello, Hoffersons resident; this is Linda speaking. To whom am I speaking to?"

_"Mrs. Hoffersons, I'm here to inform you that... Nee-tur Rem-bih-newt has been found. If you would like to visit him, he's at-"_

"Say no more." Linda places the phone back at its place before rushes to the living room, where her husband and daughter are at. "They'd found Rem."

"That was fast. Should we go no-" Linda cuts off her husband by pulling him and Amanda to their feet and pushes them out of the door and locks it behind her while simultaneously throws the car key at Vincent.

"I am waiting to meet the person who had been saving our daughter and I will not wait a day for it. Now get in the car and go for it."

A little bit clumsy since in a little rush, the Hoffersons are on their way to the hospital once more. Amanda sighs tiredly over the rush as she gazes out through the window, resting her forehead against it.

They are passing a store before Rem's word from yesterday crosses her mind.

"STOP!"

_**SCREECH!**_

"What!? What?! What did I do!? What did I do wrong!? Astrid, where are you going!?"

Vincent is left unanswered as he and Linda watch their daughter rushes into a clothing store without pausing for explanation.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

_Þú rífur úr hjartarætur sem þú treður á  
Með hendur í vösum, með nóg kominn  
Í votu grasinu geng þangað til_

_"Illgresi – Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust"_

"Where did the nurse said he is at again?"

"He should be around here somewhere... or is it there..."

"Found him. He's right here."

The Hoffersons enter the room, with Amanda more confident than her hesitating parents. They are greeted by a man on the bed that had his lower part of his face wrapped in thick bandages, especially around his mouth area. He looks very not amused but silently surprised at receiving a visitor; or three in this case.

"Good morning Rem. How are you feeling today?"

_**"Beside a pained face and being grumpy for being stuck in this godforsaken bed for who knows how long, I am well thank you very much,"**_ he replies as he adjusts his narrow glasses, to which Amanda finally noticed, and his slick back hair too.

"Did you bail the hospital just to get your glasses and your hairband?" Amanda asks with a stunned tone.

_**"This thing has grown on me; now feeling a little different without it rather than with it much like this."**_ He taps his near invisible black hairband. _**"And I need this to keep my hair out of the way because I really do not want a haircut." **_Amanda gives him a glare at the refusal of having a haircut.

"Couldn't you just wait here and have someone else to bring it to you?"

_**"Like whom, may I ask? After facing death I highly doubt your parents would let you out of their sight any moment now." **_Instead of reddened in embarrassment she glares at him to mask it; he hit a little closer to home. Then, the mention of her parents makes her realized that they are there with her.

"Speaking of my parents, they had been _dying_ to meet you." She steps aside and waves her parents to step forward. "Rem, Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad, Rem."

Rem raises an eyebrow and looks at the married couple up and down. He then holds his hand out for a handshake, to which Vincent took.

"Good morning, Rem. It's a pleasure to finally you."

"Our daughter had been talking about you." Amanda rolls her eyes at her mother's words as Vincent releases Rem's hand.

"Did not."

"And we would like to thank you in person for saving our daughter, both times." Amanda groans although she has been expecting this. Rem snorts in amusement before looking at Amanda with a light amusement in his eye.

_**"I hope your parents did not bring any food or drink; I could not eat, especially in my current situation."**_ This time it's Amanda's turn to snort in amusement.

"Don't worry; they don't-"

"We didn't bring anything edible as a thank you gift Rem, since we _had_ heard about your current situation."

Rem is staring at Linda with very wide eyes behind his narrow green glasses. He blinks for a few moments before turning towards Amanda with an accusing look.

_**"You did not tell me about the fact that your parents could understand me too."**_

"I... didn't know about it..." Amanda stares at her smiling mother the same way. "But now that I think about it, Silent Sven was my Mom's father, so it shouldn't be a surprise that my parents could understand you too."

"We're sorry if we had surprised you there, Rem," Linda says apologetically. "But your way of communicating is almost similar to the way Father did back then it's almost natural to me."

"Not to me though; I am still having a little difficulty of understanding his language. And it has been years," Vincent comments absentmindedly.

"Oh, and by the way; I'm Linda. And this is my husband, Vincent," Linda introduces with a polite smile. Rem looks at each of the Hoffersons before him. Then he releases a muffled sigh.

_**"This makes conversations much easier."**_

"I hope it is. Oh, before I forget…" Linda takes out a book from her bag and hands it to him. He takes it gratefully and looks at the title. "Astrid once mentioned that you like cats. I hope you like lions too."

_**"Lions are still cats, so I like them too. Thank you for the book,"**_ he informs as he read the small synopsis at the book that titled "LIONBOY".

"I know you'll feel a little bit lonely if you're here all alone. So I think reading might help erasing it."

_**"Loneliness and I are no strangers. But I do like reading books to skip time."**_ Linda is taken by surprise at his first sentence, as well as Amanda.

They don't know the tone used but the way he played with the words, it seems that he had been alone for a long time until to the point it's normal to him.

"Well…" Vincent clears his throat to ease the discomforting atmosphere away, and starts a new topic. "How old are you Rem? You don't look like you're eighteen."

_**"I am twenty-two this year. I understand my scars can deceive my age."**_ Amanda's mother has her curiosity peaks.

"When's your birthday?" At Linda's question Rem frowns a bit before shrugging his shoulders.

_**"I do not know, honestly."**_ His answer makes the Hoffersons stare at him silently.

"Then… how did you know you're twenty-two this year?" Rem shrugs once more, even softer this time.

_**"I know I was eighteen back in twenty-twelve, and I just adds on as time goes by. I do not know my birthday but I do know I have been living for twenty-two years now."**_

His hand subconsciously goes up to his neck, as if reaching for his scarf to pull it up back to his chin. But upon touching his bare neck he realizes that he no longer has his scarf and awkwardly drops his hand back down on his lap.

He looks quite uncomfortable now that he finds out that his scarf is now gone. He even fidgets with his fingers. His eye – the right not-blind one – even looks a little distant. But then again, his eye always looks a little distant since they had first met, although shrouded by his other emotions.

"So," Vincent clears his throat to push the uncomfortable moment aside. "Astrid didn't want to elaborate much about the between of you two."

_**"There is nothing much to elaborate, really. We are just friends and nothing more. At least that is what she told everyone."**_

"Are you saying you don't appreciate our friendship?" Amanda glares at him heatedly.

_**"I do not know; all you seemed to do is control me, an adult. I had never seen such friendship work that way, fawn."**_

"Fawn?" Linda raises her eyebrow at her daughter in mild curiosity; Vincent looks confused.

"Rem couldn't say proper names like mine or yours or his. So he nicknamed me as _"fawn"_."

_**"It is fitting yet at the same time not. She can be fierce as a dragon at times, and dumb as a donkey."**_

"_Excuse me_?" Amanda hisses through her teeth as she smiles toothily, veins start to pop on her temples. "Could you please repeat that one more time?"

_**"At least both are hardworking creatures. Though, I am not sure about the dragon."**_

"Oh you-"

"_Anyway_," Vincent intervenes as he puts a hand on his daughter's shoulder to hold her back (he knew from experience that he can't hold her back even if he tries to; she took after her mother when it comes to strength). "Let's not raise a fuss, shall we? This is, after all, a hospital."

"When you got out of this place, I'll send you right back in," Amanda warns the brunette, shaking her fist to emphasis her words before turning away in a childish manner.

_**"Is she always this hot-tempered?"**_ Rem asks either of the parents. Vincent leans to his wife, seeing the look on his face. She translates his words to her husband.

"Yeah, she took after her grandmother, on my side," Vincent answers, looking a little bashful as he scratches the back of his neck.

"So, before the visiting hour is up, can you-"

"Mr. and Mrs. Hoffersons?" A nurse walks in with a polite smile. "I'm sorry to inform but visiting hour has finished. You can come back on another day."

The Hoffersons sigh, disappointed that their conversation had to cut short.

"I was just about to strike up a conversation," Linda comments after cursing silently under her breath.

"See you next time, Rem." The said man nods as they leave the room. Then, Amanda suddenly stops in her tracks.

"Oh, before I forget…" She immediately returns back to Rem side and takes out a plastic bag Rem didn't noticed until now. "I bought this on my way here, so… here."

She takes out a woolen emerald green scarf and hands it to him. Rem freezes as he stares at the scarf.

"I remember about how your scarf is the last gift you ever had. So I decided to buy you one as a thank you, for saving my life. It's nothing much, but I couldn't think of anything else."

Rem gently takes the scarf off from her hands and lays it on his lap. He continues on staring at it and not making any eye contact with her at all.

"I, uh… I couldn't find the _proper_ scarf for you in the men section; they all look kind of lame if you wearing. I bought this on in the women section. I know it's a bit ironic but I think it's kind of suits you. I hope you don't mind."

Rem didn't utter a word, merely keeps on gazing down at the scarf. He didn't even move a single muscle. Amanda takes this sign as to leave.

"Thank you again, for saving me, Rem." She leaves the room half jogs half sprints to catch up with her parents. Even now, she silently hopes that Rem didn't mind the gift.

.

"Hmm, it looks like Mr. Rem forgot to turn his light off," the nurse quietly muses to herself in order to not disturb any of the slumbering patients.

She is still surprised that the John Doe, whose name is the complicated Hnýtur Rembihnút, is here in the hospital bedridden for hopefully over a month to recover his wounds.

Not only has that he also had a connection. Well, a _friend_ to be more precise but still, there is _something_.

She enters his room and takes in the sight of him lying on the bed, with an open book on his chest and the wall mounted light facing him. His chest slowly rises and falls with a light frown on his partially covered face.

She gently pries the book off from his hand, putting a bookmark on the page and sets it aside. Before she turns off the light, she notices a new edition on him.

Around his neck is a plain yet beautiful emerald green scarf that seems to stand out, out of everything else. She had to admit he looks a little more natural with it, like it's a part of him.

.

"Alright Mr. Rem, we're going to take off the bandages. Signal us if you feel any pain," the nurse says politely. The man in question nods his head slightly and waits patiently for her to take off the damn thing.

It is a wonder for the local doctors and nurses that the mystery man –named tongue twistingly Hnýtur Rembihnút or Rem for short – had been staying for over a month.

The longest he had stayed before this is… less than a day. But enough about his past; they treat their patients well and with care, John Doe included.

The Hoffersons frequently visits him, especially the daughter, Amanda. They keep insisting they are not related to him in any way or another; just friends and nothing more.

What seems like an eternity, the bandages are finally removed. Once removed, the doctor and nurse couldn't help but release a sharp sigh.

It is something they had found out about him ever since he first showed up God knows when ago. He is always prone to injuries and he never escaped unmarked.

Rem received another scar: a Glasgow smile.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

_Og við horfumst í ókunn augu  
Samt höfum þekkst alla tíð  
Undir vökulum augnaráðum létumst  
Stöndum nú tvístíga_

"_Hengilás – Go"_

"_Let me get this straight: Over a month ago, you and Rem were kidnapped by the Glasgow __serial killer__?"_

"Yeah."

"_Yeah?__ That's all you've got to say?"_

"Well what else you want me to say? _Oh darling, fu-_"

_**STATIC!**_

"_-ing Henry Haddock you big di-_"

_**CRACKLE!**_

"_-k, it was a horrendous feeling of being kidnapped by the likes of Melisda DeLouis. She was a monster hid behind a kind smile and aristocracy. I escaped from her grasp but __Hnýtur Rembihnút, blessed his scarred soul, had suffered her torturous torture. He had a wound to his abdomen right through his back, and she cut his cheeks into a smile with-_ "

"_Okay, okay! You've driven the point home; no need to take a step further. And no need for the cusses, Astrid, goodness' gracious. Anyway, how __is__ that Rem guy? You said something about a wound to his abdomen and something about his cheeks."_

"Well, he's not… unscathed from the scuffle from that woman. Do you want me to shove it in away or easing it in?"

"…_Wait, who's the guy around here?"_

"Hiccup."

"_Uh- J-Just fire away."_

"The lady cut his cheeks into the Glass-whatever smile and she plunged a knife into his abdomen until it hit the chair. To make things worse, Rem ripped himself out from the knife instead of pulling the thing out first."

"_N…N…"_

"Any more questions, Hiccup?"

"_D…Did you… see them all?"_

"He sat in front of me; I watched the whole thing. Except for the cheek cutting part because the lady was blocking the view. And the Rem ripping himself off from the chair part too, because the lady was in front of me. Did I mention his jaw was hanging the entire time?"

"_N…N-No…?"_

"His jaw was hanging the entire time."

"…_How… How is he? Is… Is he even __alive__?"_

"He's in the hospital now, and I think he's getting out any day now."

"_Wow… that's a bloody miracle."_

"Yeah, I've been visiting him ever since. Also, the guy's start giving people _"nicknames"_, and he's really bad at it, if you know."

"_Why is that?"_

"Well, me as "fawn", my dad as "deer", my mom as "doe", Camicazi as "bikinis", Heather as "lingerie", Gobber as "mustache", Ruffnut and Tuffnut as "stick" and "stone", Snotlout as "thigh" and Fishlegs as "tin can"."

_"...W...W-Wow."_

"And you know what he calls you, Hiccup?"

_"What?"_

"Pencil."

_"E-Excuse me?"_

.

The founder and owner of The Forge sighs tiredly as he slumps in his seat. He fiddles with one of his two braided mustache.

"Nothing had been cleaner ever since Rem had joined the boat," he comments to no one in particular. "And nothing had been dirtier ever since Rem had joined the boat."

"Is Rem really that good at his job?"

"More like the guy is doing what my previous janitors not doing, Astrid."

Amanda came to The Forge all alone, and she sat at her table all alone. Rebecca refuses to join (_"Wait, we have __HOMEWORK__?"_), Heather refuses too (_"Nah, my show's on and I'm not skipping it."_), Cathy is taking the day off and Rem is still in the hospital. So it is up to Gregory to give her company.

"And Gustav and Madonna are _NOT DOING GOOD AT THEIR JOB_!" Gregory yells across the restaurant, towards the two youngest employees. Gustav and Madonna flinch guiltily and bow their red face in embarrassment. "Anyway, how is the guy?"

"He's recovering, the last time I'd visited him," Amanda answers, shoving another handful of fries into her mouth (_"I order some fffff please," Amanda answers in a way that caused the waiter to tremble in suppressed mirth as he shakily writes down her order)_. "From what the doctors said he'll be out any day."

The entrance door's bells jingle. Gregory, being the entrance at his line of sight, looks up and his eyebrows rise in surprise.

"Rem? What are you doing here?" Amanda looks at him in surprise before whirls around.

Rem is casually walking over to their table. He's out from the hospital gown he dislikes, returning back into his (new? Where did he get those anyway?) white clothes that are brighter than the ones before, with the addition of his narrow green glasses and black hairband.

Loosely around his neck is a bright emerald scarf, her gift for him. He only wrapped it once; one end from his left shoulder and rested near his waist, while the other end on his back. It stood out the most out of his feature. Amanda suddenly realizes he had been wearing it ever since she gave it to him, and she hadn't seen him with it off.

"Hey, Rem. I didn't know you released today," Amanda says in genuine surprise.

"_**Hello to you too, fawn. Say hello to mustache for me," **_he greets back as he sits down on the chair beside her. The lower part of his face is now free from its bandages, revealing the scar the lady left. His disfigured right cheek is now gone, now a Glasgow smile replacing it.

She scans her eyes over his other scars: the three giant claw-like vivid scars, starting from upper left side of his face and down to the lower right side of his face reaching to the side of his neck, crossing his eyebrows, his eyes, the bridge of his nose and his lips, the scar on his left side of his jaw trails up to his ear, the bullet wound on the tip of his right ear.

She almost completely forgot he is a physically scarred man. And those are just on his face. She doesn't know what lies under those white clothes of his.

"Rem says hello," Amanda notifies Gregory, who glances at her before nodding towards Rem. "How're you feeling?"

"_**Well enough," **_he answers. _**"And by the way…" **_He pauses and raises his hand.

_**SLAP!**_

With a swift motion he slaps the back of Amanda's head. It startles her but once she recovered she retaliates by punching his shoulder, hard.

Well, more like his elbow because that's how high she can reach. Rem is a pretty tall man.

"_What was that for_?" she hisses at him dangerously, glaring furiously at him for physically abuse her.

"_**For being a pain in my ass," **_he replies, not bothered by her physical abuse but rubs his bruising shoulder anyway.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Rem merely shrugs his shoulders, not answering her question.

"_**Ask mustache when I can get back on my job?"**_he asks instead. She half-minded that Gregory is sitting at the same table with them. He's probably feeling uncomfortable by their one-sided conversation; at least, vocally.

"Shouldn't you be resting by now?" she asks him, frowning in concern.

"_**I have been bedridden for a month, fawn. I have rested enough." **_Rem is either ignoring or not noticing her concern, as he takes a bite on what's left of the fries. _**"Besides, my wounds are all healed. That one month long stay seemed unnecessary."**_

"What did the doctor say?"

"_**I do not know. I do not pay any attention to any of his words."**_

"What he's saying, lass?" Gregory asks, interrupting the conversation.

"He wants to get back to his job here, despite just got out from the hospital. Not only that, he didn't even listen to the doctor." She gives Rem a dirty look.

"_**I had been to the hospital many times before. Whatever they say are all the same. And I will just tune them out." **_Gregory places his hand and mug-hand on the table and leans forward.

"Rem, as your boss I am telling you to take a day off. Do not come back tomorrow or the day after," Gregory says in a commanding voice. Rem merely raises his eyebrow at her before his shoulders sag.

"_**Of course then," **_he says in defeat.

"He's throwing in the towel," Amanda translates for Gregory. The owner and founder of The Forge smirks in victory.

"_**Just as you know I am too tired to argue with the two of you. I will return three days from today."**_

"You should go home," Gregory orders with a wave of his mug-hand. Amanda freezes in her seat. A thought crosses her mind and she frowns up at Rem.

"Rem… Where _is_ your home?"

"_**That is a matter of no importance right now." **_He stands up from his chair and walks towards the door. He looks at her over his shoulder. _**"See you when I see you, fawn." **_Then he walks out with a light wave with his right hand.

"Well, I've taken break long enough. I should go back to work," Gregory says as he begins to stand up, taking the empty plate with him. "You want another round?"

Amanda nods mutely and Gregory walks away. Her eyes still glued to the door, to where Rem had just left.

"Excuse me," a voice suddenly gains her attention. Turning towards the source, a blonde woman in early thirties had approached her, wearing thick brimmed glasses. "You seem to know that man?" She nods towards the door, where Rem had just left.

"Rem? He's… a friend you could say but he would disagree if you ask him," Amanda answers the woman, shrugging her shoulders a bit. The woman raises his eyebrows curiously.

"May I sit down?" she inquires, gesturing towards the seat where Gregory had vacated. She sat when Amanda nods her head mutely. "I'm Dr. Mala Kane, one of the… many doctors that had treated that man prior to today." She offers her hand for a handshake with an honest smile.

"A… Amanda Hofferson. Call me Astrid." Amanda gives the doctor a light handshake as she introduces herself. Befriending Rem seems to give her more attention from adults it seems; more specifically, doctors.

"So, his name is _"Rem"_, you say?" Dr. Mala inquires as she releases her hand.

"Short of "_Hnýtur Rembihnút__"_, yeah. At least that's what he gave me. I'm not sure that's his real name but that's what he gave."

"What else do you know about him?" the doctor asks, leaning on the table with a mild look of eagerness. Amanda frowns to think for a second before shrugging her shoulders.

"Not much; I only met him a few months ago, still getting to know him. I know some things about him but none are personal it seemed, not that I know of. What do _you_ know about him?"

"Almost nothing; I didn't even know his _name_ before this. To know he _has_ a name is surprising. At least, to me."

Amanda hums. Trying to know Rem is harder than she thought. From the doctor before her Rem probably had met a lot of people before her. But from what she got from Dr. Mala _she_ is the one who knows him the most.

But there is _something _that the doctor knows that she doesn't.

"You said you're one of the many doctors of Rem," Amanda points out, to which Dr. Mala nods her head. "Which one are you?"

"I'm pretty sure you noticed the scar on his face," she points out, just as a waiter places down the ordered French fries onto the table before walking away. Amanda raises an eyebrow at her.

"…Which one?" Dr. Mala lightly slaps a hand on her forehead, completely forgot that Rem has more than just one scar.

"It's the claw scar." The biggest scar on his face, it seems.

"How did he get that anyway?"

"He attended a participation that sent him to Africa a few years ago. There was a lion involved in the mix."

"Oh, so he saved a guy from the lion."

"Actually, it's the other way around. He rescued the lion from a poacher. It was a double whammy; he got shot, earning that wound on his ear, and he got slashed by the lion quickly after. It is a miracle he survived both attack. He quit the job shortly after we landed home, not surprising. But something told me he quit not because of the job."

Her last sentence somehow didn't sit properly for Amanda. Rem quitted his job for no apparent reason. It _is_ logical that he is off because of the injury but Dr. Mala doubted it. Why is she pursuing this thought so thoroughly?

A ringtone is heard, interrupting their conversation and Dr. Mala takes out a phone. She grimaces down at the message she received and sighs tiredly.

"Unfortunately I have to cut the conversation short. It is nice to meet you, Astrid." She and Amanda share a handshake before standing up and leaving the restaurant.

"That was random," she says to no one in particular before taking a handful of the fries and shoves them into her mouth.

Amanda ponders for a short moment before decidedly taking out her phone and dials a number. She waits for the other person to pick up, drumming her fingers on the table impatiently. Finally she picked up.

"_Yeah?"_

"If you say no to my request, Heather, I'll post the picture of your mounding toe to the internet."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

_Þúsund orð í árum  
Þúsund ár sem segja allt sem er  
Enginn sér, á bak við orðin tóm  
Býr alltaf eitthvað_

"_Heima – Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust"_

"When you threatened me for a "request" I did not think it would be _stalking_ a man. Quite a hypocrite, aren't you? Always complaining how you're getting tired of Ruffnut's stalking. The big guy just got out from the hospital, and the first thing you do is stalking him?!"

"Hey, I've done some things before this, Ice Queen. Now drag your sorry ass over here before he notices us."

"I think he'd already noticed us, just ignoring us is all."

"Shh!"

They had been stalking ("_NOT _stalking.") Rem ever since Heather stumbled into The Forge, still in the middle of zipping up her jeans.

"_Please don't tell me you put on your clothes on your way here."_

"_I nearly did but didn't. I just forgot to zip up my pants."_

"_It also seems you forgot your br-"_

"_Anyway, I forgot breakfast. And-"_

"_No time; we need to go right now."_

"_What?! But-"_

"_Toe."_

"_Okay."_

They had been hiding around the corner, behind a window, inside a house, behind a bush, _inside_ a bush, behind a wall of melting snow, _inside_ a wall of melting snow, wearing shades in disguise and pretend they are undercover.

The said man is everywhere _but _at home, wherever that is. He's been through the shopping mall, the supermarket right across the street (using the zebra crossing even, which no one ever used!) and the food shop a block away. He only walked away with a soft drink in his hand. He's a bit hard to notice (the irony, especially coming from a man riddled with scars), with his white clothes almost blend with the snow around. Luckily his green scarf stood out.

And then after that, he walked all over the entire town without taking any break. He even walked the outskirt of the town, right at the borders for unknown reason.

And then repeats the whole process three more times.

Amanda had never been tired her whole life and Heather seconded that. The sun had already set when Rem have finally broken the process. He suddenly enters a random part of the forest, Amanda and Heather a distant away behind him. As they enter further, a hidden trail begins to show up and the forest starts to clear up a bit.

"Where are you leading us Rem?" Amanda asks silently, frowning as she and Heather start to feel nervous of where Rem is going right now.

"Like I said before, he'd probably already noticed us and just leading us to nowhere. Either that or he's just lost. Or maybe he's actually a serial killer like that smiling lady. I prefer the first and/or second ones and definitely not the third one. Which one would you pick?"

"Shut up."

"Can you blame a girl feeling nervous at the current moment? I mean he _could _be another serial killer. Where do you think he got all of those scars? And do you think lies under that coat of his? Maybe a war axe or a death scythe or something."

"Quiet."

"Or maybe a war axe that can transform into a death scythe. That would be cool to watch before you die."

"Shhh!"

After a moment, deep inside the forest and the city lights already disappeared behind them, they arrived at a small clearing, where right in the middle of it is a wooden cottage, fully covered in thick layer of snow. Well, a wooden cottage wouldn't be correct. It's more like a _garage_ because of how small it is.

"This is… Rem, you lived here?" Amanda whispers in disbelief as Rem opens the door of the cottage. The door is unlocked and creaks surprisingly quieter than she expected. Rem didn't enter. Instead, he turns his head and directly stares at her behind his narrow glasses, causing her and Heather to freeze.

"_**You need to work on your stealth, fawn. And please tell lingerie to shut up; her voice could be heard a mile away." **_Then he enters the cottage, leaving the door open.

"I think he spotted us," Heather whispers to Amanda. "I'm not sure because he didn't say anything but I think he spotted u- OW!"

"He already spotted us, dumbass," Amanda hisses as she stands up from the snowy bush they hid in. Heather pouts as she rubs her shoulder. "And of course he didn't say anything. He's mute."

"Hey, where are you going?" Heather asks when Amanda starts walking to the cottage.

"I'm going up with him. He's inviting us in of course."

"Is that how you take invitation? Someone open their door and you just walk in?" Amanda didn't answer her, merely keeps on walking. "Hey, wait! Answer me here!" Heather scatters after the blonde, tripping over hidden branches in the snow.

Amanda enters the house, noticing Rem leaning back against the wall right beside the door, seemingly waiting for her. Then her eyes land on the contents inside the house, and she immediately stops in her track.

"Is… Is this your home?" Amanda slowly asks, letting her eyes roam around. Heather behind her peeks in before slowly stands beside her, letting her eyes roam too.

"_**It is now," **_she reads from the corner of her eyes as he shrugs one shoulder.

Inside his house… it's almost empty. There's only a wardrobe, a small table where a book titled "LIONBOY" is placed, and a mattress on the wooden floor at the far corner. Other than that are the four walls and the door and a window.

The room, the _only_ room of the entire cottage, garage, whatever this place is, basically speaks loneliness, but not _just_ any kind of loneliness. It's the kind of loneliness where one is already used to it.

Rem had clearly been living in his place for a very long time.

"For how long you've been living here?" Amanda turns her head towards the white clad man, mouth slightly agape. Rem frowns slightly, thinking to himself, before he shrugs his shoulders once more.

"_**I lost count." **_He admits, either in nonchalant or surprise Amanda doesn't know the tone he used. She can only _read_._** "I did not bother to, to be more precise. Also…"**_

_**SLAP!**_

Her head tilts forward from the impact on the back of her, with her eyes widen along with it. She looks up just in time Rem retracts back his hand. Like earlier, she retaliates back by smacking his elbow, hard, while glaring at him.

"What was that for?"

"_**For stalking me."**_

_**SLAP!**_

"_**And that is for invading my home." **_After the second slap, Amanda punches the same spot even harder and gives him a harder glare.

"_You _are the one who left the door open."

"_**Is that how you take invitation? How many homes have you invaded if following such rule?"**_

"This is domestic abuse."

"_**This coming from the abusive girl herself."**_

Heather just stands there awkwardly, listening to the one-sided conversation although words are exchanged.

"Excuse me?"

"_**Says the girl who punches people in the shoulder without holding back. And do not get me start with the verbal abuse. That goes off the chart of abuse, if there is one such chart."**_

"I did not verbally abuse you."

"_**So you had verbally abused someone that is not me."**_

"I did not say that."

"_**You implied it."**_

"You're going to give me concussion if you keep slapping me."

"_**My arms will fall off if you keep hitting me."**_

Amanda did not have any more respond. It is night and she is tired from all the stalking earlier that went for _hours_. So she merely stares him down (or up because he is taller than her). Rem raises an eyebrow but stares back. It feels like minutes or probably hours as the two stares down at each other; one is hard while the other is merely blank. Then, finally, Rem sighs while rolls his eyes.

"_**Come on now."**_

"Where are we going?" Amanda asks, slightly confused at his sudden declaration (more on the _declaration _then the timing it came out). He steps out from his house with Amanda strides to the door.

"_**Accompanying you two to the town. You do not want to meet what is in these woods."**_

Amanda falters in her steps, silently swallowing.

"What is in these woods?" she asks slowly, a tad afraid of the answer (_'I am not! I am Fearless Astrid Hofferson! I do not fear anything)_.

"_**You do not want to know," **_he replies simply, standing beside the door waiting for her to come out of his house. Taking in his advice, she exits the house and urges him to lead her away from the woods. She was a little busy stalking Rem earlier to know her way out of the forest.

She releases a sigh of relief once she sees the city lights. She doesn't care if Rem is bluffing or not about that "something" in the woods but she is getting the heck out of there no matter what.

Thinking back about the woods reminds her of the house Rem is living in.

"Hey, Rem?" she calls out just as they are nearing the edge of the forest. The said man raises an eyebrow of acknowledgement. "Are you going to be okay?" He turns his head towards her, the eyebrow a little higher now.

"_**In what mean are you saying, fawn?" **_he asks back, adjusting his scarf a bit seemingly out of habit.

"Rem, there's _barely _anything in your… house. And you don't even have any covers for yourself." She clearly saw only a mattress on the wooden floor and no thick covers around. How he fought the harsh cold is beyond her imagination, although she is more prone to cold than average as clearly seen.

"_**I have enough tolerance to fight the cold anyway, so do not worry about me; I will do just fine. Besides, I had survived through winter for years now, just as you know."**_

_Survived through winter…_ Amanda takes in a shaky breath as her mind plays a scene against her will:

The winter storm rages angrily outside. Strong wind is blowing, and thick snow raining down, covering the entire dirt ground with fluff yet bitter white. Rem, alone in that house of his, huddled in a ball to keep warm, takes deep breath ins and outs as if to fight the cold from seeping into his body anymore. He blows his cooling breaths into his hands to warm up his remaining numbing fingers. It takes him a while to sleep, but eventually he succumbs to slumber despite his shaking form.

When the sun rose the next morning, he goes to work like nothing had happened, greeting her when she came like nothing had happened.

"_**Have some nice rest. You two will be going to school someday around this week correct?"**_

"Y… Yeah."

"_**See you when I see you, fawn. Say goodbye to lingerie for me." **_Amanda frowns at him in confusion.

"Why do you want to say goodbye to a lingerie?" she asks as she gives him a look. He merely waves his hand over his shoulder before disappearing behind a tree.

"What did he say?" a voice beside her asks in similar tone, causing her to look at the source in startle. She completely forgot that she'd dragged Heather with her stalking Rem.

And it takes Amanda a longer while to remember that Rem is referring Heather as lingerie. It's still a new and hard concept for her to get her head around it; new because Rem established it less than two weeks ago; hard because of the nicknames he used are not in any way related to the person of interests.

"Oh Rem is saying goodbye," Amanda simple says. "Let's go home before your mother starts calling a police search for our nasty butts."

"The only nasty butt around here is yours, Astrid," Heather retorts weakly, in which Amanda completely ignores.

As the pair quickly makes their way home, Amanda couldn't take her mind off from the cottage (Garage? Wooden stand? Whatever that is) Rem is living in. How could he live in such place? Where does he eat? What does he eat? How is he having number one or number two? Is he comfortable with that mattress? Does he even have any blankets to keep the cold away? And how could he-

"Saying goodbye to a lin- is he referring _me_ as _lingerie_?"


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

_Our sinking friendships  
We drown them all_

"_Sinking Friendships – Go"_

"_**Is there a reason for you to camp outside my house, fawn?"**_

"I did _not _camp outside your house, _Rem_."

"_**Then is there a reason for you to be here?"**_

"Is it wrong for me to be here?"

"_**If a person is peeping at you through your window what do you feel?"**_

"…Disturbed…"

"_**That is how I feel right now."**_

"I did not know you are capable of feeling emotions."

"_**I did not know you are horrible at attempt to poke a sore wound."**_

"Are you implying I did?"

"_**Do you think you did?"**_

"Is it even possible for me to _not_ poke at your sore wound?"

"_**What do you think?"**_

"Do you?"

"_**Do I what now?"**_

"Didn't you get what I said?"

"_**You are saying?"**_

"You know what I'm saying."

Rem raises an eyebrow. Amanda follows his gesture to mask up her defeat at the unofficial competition. Rem slowly crosses his arms over his chest, tugging on the scarf a little. The said scarf is wound twice around his neck; both ends slide down his shoulders and rest near his abdomen.

"_**I am still wondering why you are here, fawn," **_He asks, returning back to the earlier topic before they strayed off into their competition (with him won, by the way). Defeated, Amanda gives in with a sigh.

"Is it wrong for me to keep you company today?" she replies, earning the other eyebrow raises. "You have three days to yourself and you have nothing to do here in your… house." She hesitantly nods towards his home. "And from yesterday, you did nothing but walked around the _entire city _of Berk."

"_**So you are admitting that you and lingerie did stalk me yesterday?"**_

"So I am firmly giving you a company for the next three days." She is clearly avoiding his question.

"_**Do I get any saying here?"**_

"No."

"_**Is it too late for me to go back?"**_

"Yes."

"_**You really want to do this?"**_

"Yes."

"_**You should just go home."**_

"So, do you have any place to go?"

Rem sighs in defeat when Amanda clearly avoiding his statement. He knows how stubborn she can be (she even stated it herself, he thinks. He didn't remember nor did he clearly pay any attention that time, if there even _is _"that time"). So he decides to just give in, this time.

"_**The restroom?"**_

"Rem, be serious."

"_**The male restroom?"**_

"Okay, _I_ decided where we are going."

Before he could respond, Amanda grabs one end of his scarf and tugs roughly. The scarf tightens, he chokes and stumbles forward, his narrow green glasses nearly fell. Before the fourth step, he pulls back and now causing Amanda to stumble. She gives him a questioning glare, in which he silently snorts at.

"_**Before you decide to grab me and ran off, I have one thing first." **_He releases his scarf from her hand and adjusts his scarf. He enters his house and comes out shortly with a book in his house. _**"I had finished your mother's book. There is no reason for me to keep it."**_

He hands the thick book that entitles "LIONBOY" towards her. She grabs it and puts it away inside the satchel she carries on her shoulder.

"Anything more to stall for time?"

"_**I do not have anything more, and there is no reason for me to stall for time."**_

"Okay then. Let's go." Before she could lunge and grab a hold of his scarf once more, Rem steps away and raises his hands in front of him.

"_**I am capable of following your direction without a leash, fawn. Let me have my scarf to myself, thank you very much." **_Amanda raises an eyebrow with a look that she didn't quite believe him. He rolls his eyes silently.

"Are you sure you're not going to run away?"

"_**Is there a reason for me to?"**_

"Many reasons."

"_**Seeing yourself had implied that there are many reasons for me to run away from you, I better run away right now when I have the chance."**_

He turns around to walks the opposite direction from Amanda. He's only on his third step when Amanda tugs the back of his scarf roughly and pulls him along.

"You are not going anywhere mister. You and I have the day to spend," Amanda says firmly. Rem sighs in defeat as he continues walking backward unevenly, bending down backwards due to her shorter stature than his.

.

Amanda had successfully dragged him to the edge of the city until Rem decides to forcefully release himself from her grip.

"_**Do you enjoy pulling a helpless man around?" **_he asks as he adjusts his scarf so it wouldn't strangle him.

"You? A helpless man? I beg to differ," Amanda replies. "That's as saying I'm a weak man."

"_**One of the last two words hits spot on for what you are. I cannot tell which one." **_He walks past her. Amanda lands a hit on his elbow in retaliation before walking beside him. _**"So where are we heading, miss I have a plan for everything?"**_

"What are your thoughts on reading?"

"_**It is an important thing to do. You will gain more knowledge and new words through reading. It is also a good thing to do to pass time. Is there a reason why?"**_

"We are going to the library."

"_**Is it our current destination?"**_

"Yes, yes it is."

"_**Why are we there?"**_

"What do you think?"

"_**To sit around?"**_

"No."

"_**To sit the other way around?"**_

Amanda gives her companion an unamused look. Rem returns the stare with a raised eyebrow. She knows he is just humoring her with his questions. It is something she has found out about him.

"To _read_, of course. What do you think we do there?"

"_**To-"**_

"Don't answer that." She turns away from him, breaking their eye contact. It's another way of saying this conversation is over. It is proven effective because no words are exchanging, due to the fact that she has to look at his eyes to see what he is saying.

"White clad man! Is that really you?"

The pair turns their heads towards the speaker. A man in mid-thirty and has a classy mustache raises a hand to wave at them, or to be more precise at Rem. Her companion didn't wave back, but gives the man a nod of acknowledgement. The pair stops when the man stands before them with a warm smile.

"It has been a while since the last time we met," he says. Then, he looks a little sad as he gazes at Rem's face. "And I see you've acquired a new… addition."

Amanda knows he is referring to the scars.

"My apologies for stalling you to say hello. I'll be going now. Have a good day to you. And you too young lady." The man winks at her with a kind smile. He waves at them and leaves before Amanda could utter a word.

"Rem, who was that?" Amanda asks with surprised look on her face as she gazes up at the white clad man beside her, feeling a little bit confused at the man's sudden appearance and abrupt departure.

_**"He was my employer of one of my previous jobs. I could not tell which one it is but I know he was my employer; a very kind man with a massive heart, very hard to forget about him and very understanding." **_Amanda frowns when she caught something from his words.

"What do you mean "one of your previous jobs"?"

_**"I had work anywhere and everywhere I can, not staying in one job for so long, and eats from small restaurants,"**_ he answers, adjusting his scarf out of habit.

"Why?"

_**"So I do not get attach to anyone."**_

Amanda frowns in confusion. Not get attach to anyone? What does he means by that?

And not staying in one job for so long… is he going to quit his job at The Forge and move away?

_**"I only used the abandoned cottage as a roof above my head. I do not need a hotel and I prefer the cottage. It is good enough for me anyway." **_He begins to continue his way to their intended destination.

Amanda didn't move from her spot, staring at his back with a frown. Somehow… she did not sit well with his statements. It's not the fact that they're friends (Rem still wouldn't admit it) and she is a little scared that he is going away (it's Henry all over again). No, it's not _just _that…

There is something deeper about Rem, something deeper about _Hnytúr Rembihnút_.

Rem looks back at her with a raised questioning eyebrow, now noticing her left behind. She unfreezes herself and immediately returns back to his side. The other eyebrow raises but Amanda didn't elaborate. She decides to keep her thought to herself as they walk to the library once more.

"_**I should point out that everything around the city is within walking distant it disturbs me a little."**_

.

"Really interesting, this book," Amanda comments as she closes the book, finally finished it. Rem is sitting right next to her on the vacated reading sofa, reading his own book, still midway from finishing. He didn't react or anything; just keep reading. "_Really interesting this book._"

Rem drops his book onto his lap and tilts his head back to release a silent groan. He placed a bookmark and put the book away before turning towards Amanda, planting his elbows onto his knees and supports his head with his hands.

_**"Please, tell me about. Explain every detail, every single scene and every emotion. Tell me how many underwear you saw in that book."**_

Amanda couldn't tell whether Rem is being sarcastic or mock-ecstatic just to amuse her (aren't those two just the same thing?). She spares him a glare but either way, she gained his reluctant attention.

"The book reminds me of Hiccup."

_**"Three days from now a speck of dust on a wall will remind you of pencil."**_ When Amanda spares him another glare, he casually shrugs his shoulders. She _did_ interrupt his reading; it's her fault for interrupting him.

"Anyway, it's a story about a young Viking boy who is sacrificed to throw into the sea turned into a merman but-"

Amanda pauses in her rant to slap Rem's arm when he pretends to fall asleep. He mock-begrudgingly wakes up and gives her a half-lidded gaze though his green shady spectacles.

"Just stay with me for a moment, okay? I need to do this."

_**"To do what, may I pointedly ask? All you are about to do is going into a rant."**_

"I'm trying to summarize the story up, okay? If I can explain the story to someone else and they understand, then that means I understood the story very much."

_**"What if you do not have someone to explain the story to? You just go up to a random stranger and start talking until their ears fall off?"**_

"No, I just write it down."

"_**On the table?"**_

"No, on a paper."

"_**Tissue paper?"**_

"_No._"

"_**Toilet paper?" **_Amanda slaps his elbow again, a little harder than before after noticing he _is_ actually being sarcastic.

"No, I write it down onto a _regular paper_."

_**"Then why do you not write it down onto a paper rather than ranting off like a complete idiot?"**_

"I would prefer to explain it verbally rather than writing it down. And I am not a complete idiot."

"_**So you are a half idiot?"**_

"_No_."

"_**A partial idiot then?"**_

"Goddamn _NO_, Rem; stop being sarcastic." It shocks her that she has finally found someone who is more sarcastic than her childhood/best friend. And Rem didn't even _have _a voice to vocal out his sarcasm.

"_**Have I now? I did not realize."**_

"For goodness' sake, _please stop _and listen please? I need to do this."

_**"Sure then. Explain away."**_

"..."

_**"..."**_

"..."

_**"That is a very good explanatory you have there, fawn. I am thoroughly impressed."**_

"Damn it, Rem! You're making me forget!" She gives him an angry glare as he snorts in amusement and returns to his book. Amanda returns back to her book to gain some info for her summary.

Amanda feels a sudden tap on her shoulder. She turns towards the tapper with a questioning look, now that he had gained her attention. Rem didn't look at her but she has a full view of his eyes. They are glued on the book but not actually reading.

_**"Thank you, fawn,"**_ he suddenly silently said, causing a pair of eyebrows to rise slightly. _**"Thank you, for keeping me a company."**_ He then returns back to his book.

Amanda couldn't help but lets a small genuine smile plays at her lips.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

_I'm singing a sad tune  
Is this song to you?  
Is this song to you?_

"_Sinking Friendships – Go"_

She feels a light tug on the sleeve she is tugging, to which she ignores. She hears a tongue clicking behind her, to which she pointedly ignores. He stops in his track, in which she tugs harder until he stumbles and continues on their journey. Decided to show a little mercy, she looks back at him.

"_**Where are you kidnapping me, fawn?"**_

"Nowhere in particular."

"_**Then would you care of freeing me from your clutch?"**_

"No."

She turns back forwards, cutting of the conversation and continues tugging him to their – well, hers to be more precise – destination. If she didn't tug him he would turn on his tail and disappear around the corner.

He had nearly done it early when they exited the library, if she didn't catch his sleeve by the last second. He keeps trying to break free ever since but her iron grip wouldn't let him.

They are approaching a house. Amanda feels Rem tugging back to slow down, in which she glances at him with a raised questioning eyebrow.

"_**Fawn, whose house are you about to barge in here?"**_

"It's my house, _Rem_." Rem raises an eyebrow in surprise, in which she takes offend of. "What, you're expecting me to live in a box like _you_?"

He didn't say anything but has a look on his face as the eyebrow lowers. Amanda takes even further offend. She tugs him harder, causing him to stumble a bit and take the opportunity to land a hit on his upper arm, closer to his shoulder.

"You're a real pain in the cheek, you know?"

"_**Your left cheek?"**_

"No."

"_**Your right cheek?"**_

"My _butt cheek_, _dumbass_!" She immediately silences down after her outburst but glare heatedly at Rem. Somehow, she thinks he aggravates her just to annoy her, and takes in great pleasure in her aggravation and annoyance. "Shut up and just follow me."

"_**If I would, I would be running the opposite way of where you are walking. But since I am still in your tight clutch I do not think I could simply follow you merely be dragged by you. And-" **_She ignores his rambles and barges down the door with her foot.

"Mom, Dad, I'm home!" she announces her presence. Rem behind her looks mildly uncomfortable under someone else's roof. "And I've brought the company!"

"Bring him in!"

Rem gives her a pointed look after hearing Linda's respond, but kind enough to shut the door behind him. Amanda merely smiles sweetly at him, letting him know that this had been planned. She pulls him to the kitchen, where her parents are waiting for them.

"Rem! It's nice to see you finally join us," Linda says cheerfully, putting down a steamy pot on the table with a pair of mittens. The said table is completely full of top-class foods that leaves her mouth watered.

"Against your own will, it seems," her father comments with an amused smile, seeing how she is still keeps a tight grip on him.

"He's trying to get away," Amanda replies, now finally releasing Rem from her – from his own words – clutch. He straightens his coat from tugging so much by her while giving her a dirty look.

"_**You always lead to trouble, and your path always leads to chaos. I am trying to avoid as much as I can."**_

"Now that's just stupid; you're making that up just to give a reason."

"_**Like your non-existence boyfriend you made up so you feel love because you are desperate for it? Yes, now I see your point."**_

"I am not _desperate _for love, dumbass."

"That's enough; break up, the two of you," Linda buds in, giving her and Rem a scolding look.

"_**I would break up with her as coldly as possible, except there is no possible way she would be in a relationship with me," **_Rem replies. Feeling offended, yet again today, he earns another glare from her.

"Are you saying I'm illegible to be in a relationship?"

"_**And endure all your misfits and abuse and whatever that you do that are cringe worthy? Give me a frying pan and I would take it to a honeymoon."**_

"Why you-"

"Okay, _enough_. _Stop fighting_." Despite her scolding tone, Amanda could tell she is very amused at the interaction between them. "Goodness gracious, you two fights like _siblings_."

"Gosh, I wish I could fully understand what is going on," Vincent comments offhandedly, being the one who couldn't understand Rem's way of speaking.

Rem straightens his coat before fingering the scarf, loosening it up a bit and gives her a glare. She returns it back with equal force. From the corner of her eyes, her mother rolls her eyes and sighs tiredly. Then, Rem breaks the contest with a silent sigh and turns his head to her mother.

"_**Should I ask why I am here?" **_He asks, shifting from one foot to the other that somewhat gains Amanda's attention.

"Well having dinner with us, of course. What do you think?"

"_**To-"**_

"Do not answer that," Amanda quickly interjects. Linda stares at her in surprise while Rem gives her a blank look. Vincent just sits there silently, still silently cursing and wishing he understands the conversation.

"Sit down," Vincent finally says, gesturing towards the seat at the opposite end of the table. "You're right on time anyway." Amanda and her mother slide in their respective seats swiftly, while Rem sits down a little hesitantly. This didn't escape her mother's eagle eye attention.

"Rem, relax. No need to be so tense," Linda says reassuringly with a wave of a hand. It didn't lessen the tension on Rem's shoulders anyway.

"_**I am not used to be under someone else's roof. So I apologize for being so tense."**_

"Get used to it then; you'll be in that seat a lot more frequently this time," Amanda replies, smiling a little too sweetly at him. That only increases the tension on Rem's shoulders.

"_**I do not like the way she said it and the look she gave me."**_

"Better get used to them then," her mother replies, smiling kindly at him but Amanda could see the "sweetness" in them.

"_**None of you are making me less tense in any way."**_

"Okay, enough speaking and start digging. Rem, do you want the mackerel?"

"_**I do not have the taste buds for fish and I would prefer to keep any seafood off from my dishes, thank you very much, deer."**_

"What's he saying, Astrid?"

"He says he likes fish, Dad."

"_**I said no fish, fawn."**_

.

Linda remembers very clearly last night of what her daughter had told her. Rem, her daughter's savior and rescuer, a friend although he wouldn't admit it, a silent walking iceberg, man who is committed to his work at The Forge, has no home.

It's not a surprise, to her and Vincent. Just one look on him gives people the impression that he didn't live a simple life, and that's a proven fact when their daughter found out about his cottage. It's more like… an added information to this mysterious man.

He only used the cottage as a roof above his head. He eats outside at restaurants. He either goes to the toilet where available (or just drops them in the woods. It gives back to nature anyway).

No, Rem _has _a home. It's he has no sense of home.

He has no ties. Or at least, that's what she knows. Rem is a walking iceberg; what she is seeing is only the tip. She needs to dive in to get a clearer picture of him. Linda knows she shouldn't intrude on someone else's life, but… she is just too curious and too caring for this man.

She focuses back on the white clad man, more specifically the scars he has on his face. It's a little surprising that she is not disturb by them, and starting to accept them as a part of _Hnytúr Rembihnút_.

Currently, Rem is walking around the kitchen, opening every cupboard, every cabinet and every container he could get his hands on. Linda watches with eagle eyes she inherited from her dear mother on the dining table while the other two Hoffersons are at the living room. She could see that he is forming something in his head.

Suddenly he takes out and puts certain ingredients and utensils on the table wordlessly. All of the things cause her to raise an eyebrow in surprise and intrigue.

"_**Doe, as much as I like your hovering company here with me, can I have the kitchen to myself please?"**_

The other eyebrow shoots up at his request.

"Are you making something?" she asks him, which he nods his head in reply. "Are you going to be okay here?"

"_**Being under the same roof as fawn right over there, I am not going to be okay."**_

Amanda had also told her that Rem can be mean at times, seeing how exasperated she is when it comes to the white clad man.

"_**But I will assure you that I will not blow out the kitchen, doe."**_

Yes, "doe"; Rem's common nickname for her since he somehow couldn't say names. It'll be a while to get used to be called an animal. At least, the said animal is beautiful.

"Alright, I'm trusting you on this," Linda surrenders as she stands up from her seat. Rem nods his head gratefully. She hasn't left the room when Rem already gotten busy behind her. When she enters the living room, her daughter raises an eyebrow.

"Mom? Then… What's Rem doing in the kitchen?" Amanda asks when she hears the clattering in the kitchen.

"He's making something and kicked me out from my own kitchen."

"What's he's making?"

"I don't know; poison maybe."

.

When the kitchen suddenly fall silence, it didn't make Amanda feel at ease. Her father merely raises an eyebrow while her mother didn't react at all. When the silence stretches even longer, Amanda couldn't help herself but heads into the kitchen to check out.

Rem is lounging on the dining chair, his coat is off and hung on the chair he is sitting and his narrow glasses placed on the table; he seems to be in a meditation since his eyes are closed. Right beside his glasses is a timer.

Just as she's about to call him the timer goes off. Rem quickly wakes up and shuts it off. He puts on his glasses and grabs a pair of mittens before moves to the oven. He opens it and carefully takes out a silver tray full of muffins. The aroma suddenly dominates her nose and her mouth waters.

"Rem, did you bake those?" she asks in awe at the definitely delicious looking muffins Rem put on the table. "How did you…?" she asks when he nods his head.

_**"I had work anywhere and everywhere I can. I had somehow got myself into bakery and learned how to bake muffins and cakes. And it is not every day I can get to bake some muffins."**_

"What are those I am smelling!?" Amanda hears her father shouts before he and her mother appears.

"Are you sure these aren't poison?" Linda asks, inspecting the muffin at hand for anything suspicious. Rem didn't answer, just turns away and coughs into his fist.

That did not ease the Hoffersons at all.

.

Her body twitches when a belch suddenly erupts and she nearly cut her finger off. She might have consumed a little too much from dinner earlier, and the muffins Rem had baked are a little too good to pass. And her mother had gone a little overboard making special dinner just for Rem.

She waits a few more seconds just to be sure. When nothing came, she returns back to the wood at hand and the knife in the other. She should be downstairs with Rem and her parents but her hands are itching to carve.

Amanda hears a knock on her door, she pauses in her carving and turns around just in time Rem opens the door and leans against the frame hesitantly.

"_**Your mother downstairs requests me to call you," **_he says. _**"It is a little disturbing of how your parents give me a free reign around your house. Do your parents do this to everyone visiting?"**_ His eyes suddenly trail to the block and knife in her hand. He raises his eyebrow in surprise. _**"You are a woodcarver?"**_

She looks back down at the wooden block in one hand, still half way from its intended shape, and the knife in the other. A soft smile appears on her lips.

"Yeah, I had been woodcarving since I was five, I think. Phineas, my Uncle Finn, is a great woodcarver and taught me back then. I couldn't go a day without carving." She looks back up at him to see if he has anything to say.

Rem merely nods and roams his eyes around her bedroom before they fall on the swan. Even from her spot, the opposite wall away, she could hear his breath hitches.

"That swan is the very first thing I'd ever carved. I was six at that time and Uncle Finn couldn't be more proud at my handy work." She walks over to it and holds it up delicately. "I gave it to him as a gift. But he returns it a few weeks later, with one of the wings broken."

'_Just a few days after… that day.'_She winces and places a hand on her throbbing heart to sooth it down. She turns around to face him, the swan in one hand.

"Sadly, he died the same year. I didn't know what happened but my parents said he-"

She stops in the middle of her sentence when she realizes that Rem is no longer at the door.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

_Þú rótar í  
Tilfinningum  
Í hrærivél  
Allt úti um allt_

"_Ára__Bátur – Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust"_

Amanda sighs and drops her head to her forearm when the same message appears once more on the screen. She had been trying to call Henry the past two days; they hadn't been contacting for three days now.

That didn't concern Amanda much; they had been off contact longer than a week. It's what had been happening this past two days that quite concern her and needs Henry to hear her out; he's always a good listener. He always has been.

The way Rem abruptly left her home two days ago didn't leave a good note on her. Even her parents were confused at why he suddenly stormed out without another word. And to make matter worse he is nowhere to be found. The next morning she tried to go to his home, only to find it empty. She went to The Forge yet he wasn't there.

After two days of search, she finds out he had been avoiding her. Maybe. Possibly. She doesn't know for sure but it seems like it.

Was it something that she said? Was she a little too persistent with him, pushing him around a little too much until he avoids her entirely?

Her phone rings. She instantly grabs it, half-expecting to be Henry. Sadly, it's not him but one of her friends.

"Hey, Heather," she sigh through her phone.

"…_Okay, before I'm going to ask about any more homework I might have or definitely forgotten I have some questions: who are you, why are you so depressing and what have you done to Astrid?"_

"She's in one of those rare moments again, Heather."

"…_You're starting to scare me, Astrid. You'd never been like this since the day I met you."_

"Hey, Heather?"

"_Y-yeah?"_

"Am I… bossy?"

"_Uh… Excuse me, what?"_

"Do I push you around? Am I… Am I a good friend?"

"_Astrid, you're a __great__ friend. That is without a doubt."_

"I don't feel like a great friend."

"…_Again, you're scaring me again, Astrid. This is probably the second time you're not yourself and it involved Rem once more. He sure does know how to evoke something out of you; without even realizing it."_

"I must've done something wrong, you know? I've met so many people and made so many friends. None of them had ever done something like this; avoiding me entirely."

"_You've been pushing and bossing him around ever since you two interacted months ago. Have your ever hear him complained?"_

"Many times."

"…_Okay… but did he try to stop you?"_

"No…"

"_See? One of the few things I know about that man is that he is unmovable, composed. You pushing him around don't mean much to him. The big guy __likes__ you, Astrid. You Hoffersons are impossible to __not__ be liked. Whatever it is, it has nothing to do with you that caused him to avoid you."_

"But… why?"

"_That I don't know. You need to ask him yourself, if you could find him. He's a mystery even __I__ am struggling to solve."_

"Sure, Sherlock."

"_Hey! I'm offended from your sarcasm!"_

"Everyone's right; he _is _an iceberg."

"_That he is. And he's an iceberg that's hitting you quite hard on the hull, I have to say."_

"Ugh… he's changing me. I could feel the walls caving in."

"_Hey, changing into something more can be a good thing. Sometimes it's boring to stay within the bubble."_

"But it makes you feel safe."

"_Until the bubble burst and totally unprepared of what's to come."_

"Did you rip that off from someone else?"

"_No! I came that up myself."_

"Sure…"

"_Astrid." _Amanda couldn't help but finally cracks a smile.

"Thanks Heather, for listening to me ranting of about how horrible friend I am."

"_Hey, what friends are for?" _Amanda could hear the teasing smile on her lips from the other side. _"See you in school tomorrow."_

"Oh, and no more homework beside Chemistry."

"_What Chemistry? Wait, __What __Chemistry__? Astrid-"_

Amanda sighs. She hangs up while Heather begins to panic on the other side of the call. Just as she did so, the phone rings once more almost instantly. She half-hopes it is Henry, but it's a different number but not unrecognized.

"Yes?" she asks as soon she picks up and puts it to her ear.

"_It's me. He's here," _Cathy replies from the other side. _"He just walked in. Is it me or is something off with him?"_

It's a bit astonishing that while Rem is mute, his actions speak louder than words that even Cathy could see something is wrong.

"I'm on my way there. Please keep him for going away, can you?" she requests. Amanda could hear Cathy clearly sighs when Amanda avoided her question.

"_I'll try but no promise."_

"Thanks, Camicazi."

.

"Hey, Astrid," Cathy greets her as soon as she enters the restaurant. Amanda merely nods her head in reply. "He's at the back." Amanda nods gratefully and makes a beeline for the "Blacksmiths Only" door without any care for the sign.

Almost instantly, she hears plates and cups clattering. She initially thinks it is Gustav and Madonna are cleaning the dishes but then she remembers seeing them lounging on one of the tables having a break (subtly flirting but not now. She has more important thing to solve right now). She follows the sound, a lot easier now that she memorized the layout, to where she knows Rem is at.

"Rem?" she calls out as she nearing in. The clattering stops and the sound of running water can be heard. She quickens her pace, fearing that he's making a run for it but quickly relaxes when the clattering returns.

When she arrived, his back is pointedly shows at her. His coat is hung on the backdoor by the hook but his scarf is still present around his neck, both ends placed at his lower back to prevent from getting wet.

"Hey, Rem," she greets him. He looks at her over his shoulder. He gives her a well-hidden guarded look, somewhat wary of her. It's as if he doesn't know her. That… surprises her.

"_**Hello to you too."**_

Amanda blinks. Something… is different in his words. She shakes her head lightly, thinking it's just her.

"You'd been avoiding me the past two days," she points out as she comes to his side. He returns back to the dishes, and he seems to look a little tense.

"_**I did no such thing," **_she reads from the corner of his eye. _**"There is no reason for me to avoid you."**_

"I tried looking for you the last two days."

"_**Do you now?"**_

"Where were you?"

"_**I was merely doing what I had been doing since before I met you: walking around aimlessly."**_

Amanda blinks once more. There it is again. Something feels wrong. Something is missing in his words. It wouldn't be just her that she felt it twice now. Maybe it's something about.

Oh… Now she realizes what it is. It's shocking that she had got so used to it, _not hearing it _from him sounds… wrong.

"Rem?" she calls out again. He tilts his head slightly, signaling he heard her. "Is something wrong?" He turns his head and looks at her over his shoulder.

_**"What makes you say that?"**_ he asks, still not saying _it_ and it disturbs her more than it should. She looks at him up and down, concern brewing inside her.

"You didn't say "fawn" since I arrived." His hands flinch very slightly but he quickly recovers.

"_**Nothing is wrong," **_he replies, returning back to the dishes. He cleans them a little too vigorously Amanda thinks they might crack from the shear force he's exerting.

Either this is a side Rem showing that she doesn't know, or something is _definitely_ wrong. She knows that it's the latter.

"Was it something that I said?" She reminds back the day when he abruptly left. It has got to be _something _she had said; it has _got_ to be.

He stops washing the dishes. His hands clench quite tightly on the wet (and still a little bit dirty) dishes and they are shaking a little bit.

"_**Have you ever wondered how your uncle died?" **_she reads from the corner of his eye; he still not looking at her directly.

Amanda flinches when Uncle Finn's lifeless eyes flashed in her mind. She swallows before she opens her mouth to speak.

"I… am not so sure. My mom said he-"

"_**He rescued a thirteen year old boy from a burning house nine years ago. The boy had suffered third-degree burn on his entire back, while your uncle was permanently paralyzed. The boy survived, your uncle didn't."**_

Amanda stares at Rem. That is… very well detailed of what happened nine years ago. Was he there when it happened?

"You seem to know about it well," she comments. Rem gives her a look.

'_Is that fear in his eyes?'_

"_**I was that boy."**_

…

Is it her or has the world gone silent?

Rem… her uncle… they…

This… This has got to be the biggest coincidence in the history of mankind.

Ever since she'd met him he had been reminding her of her beloved uncle. And then here he said her own uncle, the one who keeps flashing in her mind whenever she looks at him, had saved his life at the cost of his own.

This has _got to be_ the biggest coincidence in the history of mankind.

She could feel a margarine brewing.

"_**Your uncle saved my life at the cost of his own." **_His silent words snap her back from her thought (he and her uncle had a _connection_!); she is surprised of herself that she could still read his words even when she is deep in thought.

She also surprised that there _is_ fear in his dual gazed eyes.

"You don't need to feel guilty about it, Rem. Uncle Finn loved his job despite how many times it risked his life."

"_**If I had not started the fire myself, your uncle would still be here."**_

…

…What?

He… _What?_

Did he said…?

"I-I…I'm sorry Rem, but I could've sworn you said you started the fire yourself."

"_**I did."**_

Yes… Yes he apparently did. But… But…

"_Why_?"

Is there a way to emphasize a word _more_ than just makes it _italic_?

"_**I am cursed."**_

He is what now?

"Rem, are you joking here?" Amanda asks, giving the tall man a suspicious glare.

"_**I am not joking here."**_

Just from his words, if he ever has a voice it will be stone hard and cold. He is _not_ joking here.

"_**Anyone who either closed to me or me to them, they die. And I witnessed them with my own two eyes. Some of their deaths had engraved permanent scars upon my form."**_

Amanda somewhat feeling her mind goes numb; she doesn't know why though. But she did feel a little bit confused. Has her uncle ever been close to Rem? If he did, he had never mentioned him. As if he's reading her mind, he answers.

"_**Three days before I started the fire, your uncle found me in the park alone in the middle of the night, trying to cheer me up. He tried to give me a carved swan, stating it was recently carved by his niece."**_

A carved swan? Does he mean…?

"_**It is the very same swan you had carved, sitting on your window sill."**_

So the reason the swan is a bit broken is Rem probably threw it away, showing Uncle Finn's fail attempt at cheering him up, to makes him at least a little happier.

"_**I had seen so many deaths at a very young age. Have you ever wondered what people do when witness such sight?"**_

Her mind is still taking in the information that her tongue couldn't move.

"_**I tried to kill myself. I tried to end my life, after seeing so many people I attached to died. That fire is another attempt of ending my life. But death refuses me, sending a hero to save me at the cost of his own. My entire back and my left arm are burned, just to show another life I had claimed."**_

So that's why… Is that why…? Is it really…?

"_**But once I stopped at ending my life, I am suddenly prone to accidents and injured more often. I earned scars that deep enough for me to feel the deep pain while survive. It is as if death is mocking me, toying with me with his strings."**_

He looks frustrated, and scared, and somewhat in pain? There are so many emotions in his eyes, and they are closely related to the scars that littered all over his body. And… And…

"_**I am sorry for taking your uncle away from you," **_he says to her. His hands are trembling but he quickly hides them behind his back.

"_**Goodbye."**_

He walks past her, grabbing his coat while at it, and out from the kitchen. Amanda didn't stop him, still taking in the information he is spurting to her.

.

He is nowhere to be found the next day, and the four days after.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

_En það varst þú sem alltaf varst  
Til staðar fyrir mann  
og það varst þú sem aldrei dæmdir  
Sannur vinur manns_

"_Ára__Bátur – Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust"_

Has it really been four days since he left? Or is it five? He's pretty sure he left four days ago and arrived here a day later. Let's just compromise; he's been away for four and a half days (maybe).

He doesn't know _where_ he currently is; he didn't bother memorizing the map. But he know that he is away from Berk (a quirky name for a town but it's fitting since it's placed quite near to the north). How _far_ he is from Berk… that's another matter. But what matter the most is that he is away.

Now, he has a new-

"I appreciate you for staying longer, janitor," the bartender (is he really or something else? He couldn't tell the difference) says kindly behind the bench as he dries the cup in his hands, startling him out from his thought. He nods his head at his head before returning back to mopping the tiled floor.

Where was he? Ah yes…

Now, he has a new job but not dissimilar from his previous one. A janitor (or a cleaner or a living dishwasher or whatever) once more and mopping the entire floor once more. He does not know whether he is professional at the job, or he likes the job or-

He accidentally knocks his mop onto a chair, startling him. Surprised and a bit bothered, he silently grunts and shakes his head.

It shouldn't have done such thing to him. He had zoned out much deeper and much longer and he had knocked down an entire cabinet without even realizing (It was that _one time_ and it's not his fault, really).

He looks around the… Bar? Small restaurant again? Diner? Whatever. He doesn't care. They're all same to him anyway and he's just the janitor/cleaner/living dishwasher.

He looks around the place, no more squinting because he has a pair of narrow glasses now, and realizes that he had probably swept and mopped the floor over twice already.

Feeling like taking a small break, he places the mop aside and sits on the stool in front of the bench. The bartender (what's his name again? He doesn't remember) is kind enough to place a glass of cold water in front of him. He nods his head and takes a decent sip.

It didn't take him long for the past five days (again, probably). He had been through quite a number of towns and cities in the span of time. He had found a lot of jobs, some even paid over twice the amount of his _current_ job.

But… he couldn't help but take the offer for janitor. Now he knows he is not quite a professional at the job, and saying that he hates the job is not correct (he likes it, really; simple and not much work done). It's probably…

As he places the glass on the table, his eyes somehow trails to the stool to his left. He imagines a person is sitting there, ignoring the bartender behind the counter.

He looks down at a certain height, expecting to see a blonde girl with blue eyes, scowling up at him over something he did and enjoyed it.

He shakes his head sharply, his eyebrow twitches. She's not here anymore; he is away from her now.

…He fingers the scarf around his neck.

Of _course_ it's a big effing coincidence that, out of everybody he'd met before, he is most attached to a niece to the man that saved his life nine years ago. _Of course_ he is still attached to her even after separating himself from her.

_Of course_ he missed her even though he left her behind.

He wonders though; why did he leave her? Is it because he thinks she'll hate him because he takes her uncle away from her, or is because he doesn't want her to end up like her uncle?

He sighs tiredly before taking off his narrow glasses and places his free palm over his eyes. He wishes he has a vocal cord so he could groan out loud just to show his tiredness and/or frustration.

That _hotheaded _girl he loved to annoy is giving him a _headache_. Never had anyone ever gave him such thing.

Well, except for that Indian football player he met just two days ago. That man had rambled something about his… ahem, _bra size_… to him, but he is out of the question (he's probably meant undershirt but whatever; men can wear bras if they want to).

The stool right to his left drags back and a person sits down. The customer didn't order anything, staying silent the whole time, earning a raised eyebrow from the bartender.

Rem sighs heavily and in defeat. He takes off his glasses once more and rubs his eyes while shakes his head silently. All those things he ranted are for nothing. He holds out his left hand and...

_**SLAP!**_

Amanda stiffens in her seat, her eyes snap wide open and shoulders tense up. She didn't retaliate back, merely regaining her posture as Rem lowers his hand onto the table.

The bartender raises his other eyebrow but didn't comment, keeps drying the glass. Typical bartender. And he had been drying the same glass the last thirty minutes.

_**"Have I ever told you that I really despise your persistence?"**_ He glances at her, already knows that she had been looking at him at the corner of her eyes. He didn't expect to be chased by her. Even if he did, he would've expected it would take much longer than four (or five) days.

Well it's not really that difficult to find him; a description of his appearance is crystal clear and easily spotted, with his tall stature, littered scar and vivid, _vivid_ green scarf that stands out from his usually white clothes. No one else had ever matched up to him, in terms of his appearance.

Amanda smiles softly at him before turning towards the eavesdropping bartender.

"He quits." The glass nearly dropped and the bartender quickly regains his composure. He gives Rem a wide questioning eyes but the ex-janitor ignores him.

Rem grabs his glasses and stands up, at the same time Amanda doing the same thing. They both walk out the bar at the same time, without looking back to give explanation at the bartender.

A taxi is waiting for them, engine still running. Amanda enters first before Rem. The driver looks at him before turning to Amanda. She nods at him, to which he nods back. He drives off in the darkness of the night, illuminated by the streetlights only.

The cab is completely silent, minus the engine. Rem glances at the young girl beside him. He fidgets the green scarf around his neck – her gift – before he reaches out and ruffles her hair roughly.

She deserves such rough affection. It's in tune with her own violent affection.

She bats his hand away before landing a punch on his shoulder (finally), lighter but none the less rough. It stings and he rubs it to ease the pain. Even if it isn't stinging he would've rub the spot none the less; it's a habit he silently missed.

Here and now, he realizes why he didn't move very far away.

He misses the annoying abusive blonde girl he took pleasure in annoying with.

He really couldn't just… let her go.

Before he even realizes it, they had arrived at the border of the city of Berk. Amanda pays the driver before she and Rem exit the cab. The taxi driver smiles at them before driving away, back to his hometown.

Rem looks at the city for the longest time, while Amanda looks at him. He sighs, tiredly and in content. He tears his eyes from the city and looks down at the girl.

_**"Thank you,"**_ he says. _**"Thank you for being persistent."**_

Amanda didn't react, keeping staring up at him silently. He silently grumbles and rolls his eyes.

_**"Fawn."**_

She smiles, but quickly hides it behind a vicious smirk. She grabs his sleeve and starts dragging him to the town, to her home. He lets her, knowing that she'll not letting him out from her sight anytime soon.

.

Vincent and his wife look up simultaneously when they heard the front door unlocked and opened, television forgotten. Two pairs of feet are heard, and they are hoping it's who they're expecting.

He smiles in relief when he sees Rem enters their house, dragged by his daughter who has a victorious yet relief smile on her face. Linda jumps off from the couch and instantly envelops him in a hug, nearly cries in relief. Rem looks awkward and a little quite uncomfortable.

To say that his daughter was concerned when Rem suddenly disappeared nearly a week ago was… a little understated. She had gone over mountains and below oceans in search for him (not really _over mountains _or _below oceans_; it's just a metaphor) and she had skipped school for it.

He was, of course, initially unhappy at the skipping school thing, but when his wife mirrored their daughter… he was a bit confused but not surprise.

Linda and Amanda are _Hoffersons_; once a Hofferson sinks their fangs on something, they will never, ever, let go. He learned that lesson when he first bumped into his wife a long time ago. She must've seen something in him back then, because if she hadn't he wouldn't be her husband now.

They must have seen something in Rem that they wouldn't let him go. He's not a Hofferson by blood, only in the name; so he does not know what they had seen.

"Of course!" Linda's gleeful voice snaps him from his inner thought. As Amanda drags Rem to the kitchen, he turns to his wife for translation. "Rem said he'll bake the same muffins as an apology for leaving."

No matter what he does, Vincent couldn't keep the big smile off from his face. He _loves_ the muffins Rem baked over a week ago.

'_A baker…' _That's one of the few things he sees in Rem.

.

_**"Why do I remind you of your uncle back then?" **_Rem suddenly asks when she approaches him in his line of sight, his stirring of the beautiful mixture in the bowl didn't falter. She puts the requested ingredients on the quite messy table before leaning back against him.

"Well not technically _him_ but…" she runs her hand through her hair, a little bit loose from the usual braid. "Uncle Finn passed away right before my eyes, taken away from me, with his eyes still on me." Rem raises an eyebrow at her, finally putting down the bowl on the table.

_**"So I reminded you of a lifeless body," **_he translates, leaning against the table mirroring her.

"Yeah. Although morbid as it sounds, I used my Uncle because he was the first lifeless body I saw with my eyes. And I was a kid back then so the image burned into my brain."

She had only lost one of her family right in front of her, while Rem had lost everyone. Losing her uncle was a deep scar but it pales in comparison with Rem's. People would eventually commit suicide when the scars too many and too deep, as a mean to escape the pain. She doesn't know what drives Rem forward before they met.

Well, he did say he tried to commit suicide many times but he said death, or Death, refuses him and mocks him by letting him live. He said also he is cursed… she doesn't know what caused him to think such nonsense.

She'll put a hold on the subject.

"I used to see something dead when I look into your eyes, especially your left eye."

'_I still do on a few occasions.'_

"But now, when I look into your eyes…" she squints while Rem raised a bemused eyebrow. "All I see is a person of his own."

_**"Did you see any sarcasm in there?"**_

"It is now."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

_Opna augun  
Stírurnar úr  
Teygi mig og tel (Hvort ég sé ekki)  
Kominn aftur og allt allt í lagi  
Samt vantar eitthvað  
Eins og alla veggina_

"_Starálfur - Ágætis Byrjun"_

"ASTRID! YOU'RE ALIVE!"

She lands a punch just as Rebecca is within range. It's their usual greeting so no worries.

"Where have you been the last week?" Fredrick asks as Trevor hunches over his twin sister to laugh his butt off.

"Oh you know; hunting down a certain someone who couldn't get away from me."

"So something _did_ happened to scar face," Scott comments, finger deep in his left ear as Rebecca throws a punch directly in Trevor's face. "Camicazi had filled us in, how he abruptly left without any words, as if he _could_ form words," he elaborates when Amanda raises an eyebrow at her.

"What actually happened?" Fredrick asks.

"It's a bit personal," Amanda answers.

"Ooh, sexual tension?" The recovered Rebecca falls back onto the ground by another, harder punch from the same girl. Trevor, with a bruised face, laughs at her face even harder.

"Rem believes in a stupid superstition; that drove him away." Her eyebrow twitches, showing that she is annoyed at such belief.

"I'm surprised you found him quite easily."

"He's easy to find; no other person has scars all over his face, cladding in white while wearing narrow green glasses and emerald green scarf around his neck."

"You do have a point," Fredrick couldn't help but agrees.

"And he didn't go quite far, only hours away from Berk," Amanda adds shortly after. "For someone who wanted to stay away, he sure stays close."

"Well, maybe Mr. Rem couldn't stay away from home."

Amanda doubts that. From what Rem had poured over her nearly a week ago, she doesn't think he views Berk as his home. A place to stay, yes; but not _home_. And he _did_ say that he only use the cottage as a roof above his head. If he wants to move away, he'll move away.

Yet he didn't move quite far away.

"He's a bit more submissive than I thought," she comments absentmindedly.

"So you're at the top."

The downed Rebecca received a big stomp on the guts, causing her to wheeze and her twin to laugh more. Passing students didn't give them any much thought, already had gotten used to it.

"Let's go before the bell rings." She begins to walk to her first class of the day. The rest follows her while leaving the injured Rebecca behind.

"You know that Dr. Jack is demanding for you, right?" Trevor says, giving a look at the blonde girl while searching for earplugs in his pockets.

"I could almost hear his voice," Amanda murmurs under her voice.

"ASTRID! YOU'RE ALIVE!"

Instead of greeting the green-eyed brunette the same way she greeted Rebecca, she decides to give her a mild slap.

.

"AMANDA FU-"

"Doc-"

"-ING HOFFERSON. WHERE THE F-"

"I'm-"

"-K HAVE YOU GONE TO THE PAST FIVE DAYS OR SO!?"

"Doctor-"

"WHAT THE F-"

"Guh…"

"-K DO YOU THINK I AM!? A BLOODY IDIOT!? NO! I'M A **WHALE BIOLOGIST**!"

"Holy Hel, the joke's getting old."

"WHAT' S THAT, AMANDA FU-"

.

"So," Rebecca suddenly starts just as she pulls her earphones out from her ears. "How's Ísjaki?" Amanda turns to her with a raised eyebrow.

"Uhh... Gesundheit?"

"No, dumbass. How's Rem?"

"He's fine. A little bit distant than usual but he'll be back on his feet give him time."

"What actually happened? Something _big_ must've happened for the iceberg to crack like that?" Amanda gives the brick-headed girl a raised eyebrow.

"It could be me imagining things but are you actually _worried_ about _someone else_ besides Eret?"

"Hey, Ísjaki is a cool guy you know. He is cool and he _looks _cool. I always wanted a scar, and the guy has a _lot_ of them."

Her eyebrow slowly lowers down at the thought of Rem's scars.

"Be thankful you're not bearing his scars." Now it's Rebecca's turn to raise her eyebrow. "Rem hates his scars and… they're a part of why he cracked."

The raised eyebrow slowly lowers down.

"They must've pretty serious sh-"

_**QUACK!**_

"Yeah…"

"What do you mean by "superstition" earlier?" Amanda rolls her eyes at the word.

"Oh yeah, _that_. He believed he is cursed because he got all of the scars."

Instead of snorting incredulously like she expected, Rebecca looks quite thoughtful at the topic.

"Well, what's the story behind the scars?" she asks curiously. Amanda is a bit hesitant answering.

"I'm… not sure I want to give that away. I think it's a bit personal for Rem, especially now that he is recovering."

"Well that sucks," Rebecca wilts with a disappointed look. "I want to know him better." Amanda snorts.

"Good luck trying. It takes me months to get this far. By the way, what was that word you said?"

"Oh _Ísjaki_? It's Icelandic for iceberg, and you know about Rem; he's an iceberg himself. I knew about the word from this Icelandic band."

"You know Icelandic?" Amanda asks, slightly astounded that Rebecca speaks more than _half_ a language.

"One does not need to understand the lyrics to appreciate the beauty of the songs," Rebecca replies dramatically.

"That's deep coming from you."

"Anyway, you should listen to them. They are _beautiful_."

"...I'll keep that in mind. For now, I have things to do."

She takes out a paper and a pencil and starts writing down names of people she knows. Rebecca peeks in curiosity.

"What's that?"

"A scheme."

"I'm feeling a hidden quote mark there."

"Yes, it's a "scheme" I'm about to do starting now."

"Hey, where's _my_ name?"

"You're no important."

"You hurt my feelings, Astrid."

"As if. Rem's right for naming you and Tuffnut as "stick" and "stone"."

.

Rem walks around the restaurant, narrowing his eyes as he looks around. He goes up and close, looking closely as his blurry eye could look.

His glasses and scarf are missing; someone had either hid them or stole them. Whoever they are, they are making a huge mistake.

He tried to ask Gustav and Madonna about his missing scarf and glasses, thinking that they are finally pulling their first prank on him. But all he got were utter confused and weird look from the pair as they tried to interpret his silent gestures. He let them go seeing that they don't know absolutely _anything _and they haven't pulled a prank on him (yet).

He tried to ask Gregory but the mustache man is too busy in the kitchen with the constant orders from the customers so he couldn't be the culprit. Though, despite his wide size, the mustache man is known to be slick if he wants to be. He asked anyway and Gregory denied the claim.

He asked Cathy, the most (non-sexually speaking) naughty waitress he had ever come across. In The Forge, she and Gregory are basically Yin and Yang when it comes to be sneaky and slicky.

She is placed at the very top of his culprit list. Unlike other waiters and waitress she's no longer afraid of him anymore and they are more than just acquaintance. He admits he likes her quite a lot but not as much as Amanda (but they are _definitely _not friends even if his life is on the line to admit it).

When he approached her, she _did _steal something from him, except it's not his scarf and glasses. He released her after getting back his wallet she somehow stole from him. She assured him even if she had the wallet for the next week or so she wouldn't use his money. Despite being a slick and sly girl, he believed her.

His scarf and narrow glasses are still missing though. He's getting a little tired from this little game the culprit is putting up for him, if there even _is _a culprit or a game. He might've misplaced them but he is pretty sure where he'd placed them.

"I want you to meet someone." He hears a familiar voice behind him, growing louder as she comes closer, clearly speaking with someone not him. "I want you to meet Hnýtur Rembihnút, or Rem for short."

He turns around just in time Amanda presents him to a-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The boy that is once stood beside Amanda runs out from the restaurant, arms flailing and a loud cry from his mouth. Rem merely blinks in confusion. Amanda hums, causing him to turn towards her.

Resting on top of her head is his missing glasses, and his missing scarf on her left shoulder. He found his culprit; how she had managed to steal that from him is something he did not want to dwell on. Did she just arrived or had she arrived earlier?

She has a list in one hand and a pencil on the other. On the list are many names, male names, and a bunch of them are crossed. She is currently crossed another one, and he finally figured it out.

_**"Do. Not. Use. Me. To narrow down your list of potential boyfriends, fawn."**_

"Hey, if they want to cope with me, they have to cope with you first."

_**"I am flattered but I think the more accurate one is they have to cope with you first before they have to cope with me. You are one abusive and dumb girl, and head harder than stick and stone."**_

She freezes for a few seconds, figuring out what he meant. She punches him in the elbow as a reply, but quickly returns back the list at hand.

_**"Can I have at least my glasses and scarf back?"**_ She did give back his stuff but still looking down at the list thoughtfully. How did she manage to communicate with him even though her attention is still on the thing? _**"Are you really that desperate for boyfriends?"**_

"_Boyfriend_, _singular,_" Amanda corrects him with another punch but lighter (by in Amanda's mean is NOT any lighter), giving him a momentary glare before returning back to the list while still sparing a glance at him. "I'm planning ahead to settle down with."

_**"Is it because of what I had said? Are you really that desperate?"**_ he asks, mild curiosity in his words as he reminds her of his "visit" at her home over a week ago.

"No, not what you said. And _no_, I am not _that_ desperate; it's my _parents_. They are getting a little desperate to…" she pauses, looking slightly uncomfortable. She clears her throat. "…expand the family."

_**"They do realize you are still a kid, right? You are ten or twelve years old, am I correct?"**_ Amanda glares at him before rolls her eyes, looking like she's holding back a groan.

"_Fifteen_, and going on sixteen soon. And you haven't seen anything yet. They can get very desperate and very persistent at times. Last time they had brought an aristocrat in the house as a potential husband to me."

_**"What is the problem with that?"**_

"He was twenty."

_**"And?"**_

"I was thirteen."

_**"And?"**_

"He was engaged with someone else."

_**"That does seem a little too outrageous for your parents."**_

"And that was that one time."

_**"Are you implying they had done even more than just that?"**_

"Much more."

_**"Do I need to know?"**_

"If you want to."

_**"I think I should not."**_

"Okay then." She looks back down at the list with a calculative look on her face, biting the butt end of the pencil she's holding. Seeing her full attention is on the list, he bends down and into her line of sight to speak.

_**"I repeat myself, fawn, do not use me to narrow down your list of potential boyfriends."**_

.

The black haired boy meekly walks his way out of the restaurant, head bowed and hands right between his wet legs. Rem, with a broom in one hand, slowly turns and gives Amanda a pointed look.

She glances at him and lightly shrugs her shoulders. Rem sighs before taking out a list that is hidden from his clothes somewhere. He crosses out a name on the list, the third one today.

_**"Why did I agree to this?"**_ Amanda shrugs once more, now with an amused smile on her lips. _**"I'm starting to think this is not a list of potential boyfriends. I think this is a list of people you want to see in misery."**_

"Probably."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

_Og útilykt af hárinu þínu  
Ég anda eins fast og ég get  
Með nefinu mínu_

"_Hoppípolla – Takk…__"_

"Yo, Rem! I need your help here please!" Cathy yells from across the room, standing on top of a wobbling ladder. The white clad man, _just_ entered The Forge, quickly walks over to her and manages to save her from falling. "Thank you, big man."

Rem nods in reply before raising his eyebrow quizzically at what she is doing. She is hanging up a birthday sign. He knocks on the ladder to gain her attention.

"Yeah, big man?" she asks. He points at the sign. "You don't know what's today?" she asks as she furrows her eyebrows. Rem shakes his head. "It's Astrid's birthday today!"

Rem blinks his eyes. The information is surprising to him. No one ever said anything about her birthday. He didn't even realize she _has_ a birthday.

_'How cruel of me,'_ he thinks to himself although he did not regret about it. He did remember she told him that she's soon going on sixteen. He didn't know it is today.

"I'm fine here, Rem. Thanks for helping," she informs and gives him a grateful smile. Rem nods once more and heads for the "Blacksmiths Only" door, silently wondering where Gregory is since the mustache man is always around.

He enters the kitchen, only to stop in his track, surprised seeing the tables moved aside and the floor filled with balloons. Amongst in the middle of them are Gustav and Madonna, panting and purple faces.

At first, Rem is a bit confused at their tiredness, until he sees them blowing up a pair of balloons. Then he looks back at the balloons surrounding them.

"Why... can't... Gobber... give us... some air... pump?" Madonna asks between tired pants.

"I can't wait... to see your... future boyfriend's reaction... at your job doing this."

"Wh-What are you talking about, ButtFace!?"

Rem goes further into the maze-like kitchen just as he hears Madonna pounce Gustav and begins another round of squabble follow closely by multiple popping sounds.

"Ah Hell!"

He hears more curses as he goes to the furthest back, then he hears some frustrated clatters and more curses. Nearing in, he sees Gregory with a bowl in one hand and a prosthetic spoon in the other.

If Rem didn't know any further, he's trying to make a cake or something. _Can_ Gregory bake cake?

Rem knocks on a shelf to signal his arrival. Gregory looks up at him, a scowl that is not directed at him but definitely at the bowl in his hand.

"Hey, new recruit." Gregory sure sounds quite frustrated with his growling greeting. "Sorry for the… mess here."

Rem lets his eyes roams around everything that is nearby, covered with flour, eggs and everything in between. Then he looks back at Gregory who sighs tiredly.

"It's Astrid's birthday today. Heather and Camicazi and the two lil' devils decide to use me restaurant as a crime scene. Of course, I can't say no to pretty faces, and Astrid is a good lass; she's me godson's best friend. And I couldn't say no to me godson. Well, most of the time."

Rem couldn't stop his eyebrow from rising in surprise. Gregory's godson is Amanda's best friend? Does he mean the mysterious Henry he never gets to meet? That is surprising information.

"I've tried to be helpful, but I'm entirely useless when it comes to sugar and flour."

Rem has never seen Gregory this defeated before. Deciding to show sympathy for the man, he takes the bowl from the mustache man. Gregory raises a confused eyebrow but understands when Rem points the bowl and then at himself.

"Thank you, lad. You've done a great help." Gregory gives him a grateful smile. "I'll go help with the rest." He hobbles away, scratching his butt while at it.

Rem looks down at the content in the bowl. He would've cringed at the sight but he already seen such content all over the place. While he washes the bowl, he wonders what ingredients he should use: something Amanda likes, or something she loathes.

Suddenly he realizes he doesn't quite know what she likes or dislikes. Well he _knows_ some of them but he can't put in his sarcasm into the mix, or the swollenness of her ego, or a slap on the back of the head.

Maybe he'll put in some fish. How should he do this?

Adjusting his scarf out of habit, he quickly goes out from the kitchen-

"GUSTAV! MADONNA! YOU BETTER REPLACE THOSE BALLOONS YOU TWO POPPED FROM YOUR SEX ACTIVITIES OR I WILL TELL YOUR PARENTS YOU TWO ARE MARRIED!"

-and looks around for the blonde waitress. He notices the newly hung "CLOSED" sign on the door and disappointed looking passing people outside, but for some odd reason Cathy is nowhere to be found.

"Good morning, Mr. Rem!"

He hears a partially recognizable voice as a figure enters the restaurant despite the sign on the door. He nods towards Heather in reply before quickly raising his eyebrow questioningly at her.

"What?" she asks a little too sweetly for him. Rem crosses his arms over his chest and points at a clock hanging on the wall. He hopes she understands his action.

Apparently she did because she avoids his eyes altogether and looks very nervous.

"I-I don't have class today," she informs a little too quickly, stuttering. Rem narrows his eyes behind his narrow green glasses. He lets the silence stretches on because that's all he could do at the moment (he can't talk, obviously). He still needs to see Cathy for something but Heather would do, but at the current moment he needs-

"Okay, _okay_! I skip classes today. You happy now?" she nearly snaps at him and he could detect the guilt in her tone. Rem nods in satisfaction and she looks on the ground with her shoulders slump. "I just want to celebrate Astrid's birthday and makes her sixteen's birthday a little bit special."

He snaps his fingers to gain her attention. When she looks up at him, he holds out his pinky finger and thumb and his right hand to his ear (he had to check first if he _still_ has his pinky finger and thumb).

"Uh... telephone...?" Heather says hesitantly after she deciphered his gesture. "You want my phone?"

Rem nods his head.

"Y-You going to call my parents about this?"

Rem gives her a blank look.

"R... Right, as if you can talk," she mutters as she takes out her mobile phones from her pocket. "What'd you want with it?" she asks as she gives it to him.

Rem didn't answer her. He opens up text message and quickly types in some words. Then, he shows it to her.

Heather is clearly surprise at the message he typed for her, Rem could tell at how her eyebrows shoot up. He resists the urge to roll his eyes. He may not be able to talk anymore he is able to type and write if he had to.

"Her parent's number? By "her" you mean Astrid's?" Rem nods his head. "I only have her mother's phone number. She insists on it in case something comes up."

Rem erases the message and types in another one before shows it to her again.

"Call them here?"

Nods.

"Now?"

Another nods.

"Why?"

Blank look.

"Okay."

.

He knows it's his idea to ask some help from Amanda's parents. He knows it's his idea to bring them to the restaurant for some little extra hands (for Cathy and Gregory and the others. It's not like he cared about her birthday. Nope, he is _definitely_ not). He knows it is his idea to ask them what to put in the cake.

He also knows that it is _not_ his idea to _be_ her distraction.

Linda and Vincent had convinced him to distract Amanda when she finished school while everyone else putting in some extra touches. He initially didn't agree, of course.

But it is logical for him to be the distraction because he had _absolutely no_ idea it's her birthday today, until they told him. But Amanda wouldn't expect any surprises coming from him because she knows that he doesn't know, except he _does_ know. Despite that, she won't see any surprise from him.

Other than doing something very annoying to her that may surprise her but that's a whole different story.

As he walks to her school, nearing the end hour, he wonders what he should do to distract her. She may feel a little suspicious that he is at her school waiting for her. He'll just say that Gregory kicked him out to take a break, and his kind of break is walking all over the place, _literally_.

He arrived right in front the school just as he hears the school bell rings. Almost instantly, four familiar students hastily exit, somewhat sweating from probably exertion or exhaustion.

"Oh good, you're already here. Astrid's already suspecting something when we didn't say anything and she's a little pissed. Be careful because she may bite off your finger right now. We're going to The Forge and _do not come _until you're given the signal. Good luck."

As soon as the words left the female blonde's mouth, the one whom he nicknamed as "stick", she and the others sprint away to the direction of The Forge without even a single glance back to him.

He should have ask what the signal is, but oh well. It's too late now since students start to pour out. He quickly pulls up his green scarf to hide half of his scars, enough so not to freak out the students _much_.

He waits there for the birthday girl, passing students occasionally gives him a glance; some are curious and some are in mild fear. He readjusts his hairband when some strands of his hair get into his eyes. He would've put it into a tail if it's long enough.

Finally she appeared, and the female blonde twin is right; she _does _look a little pissed, judging by the scowl on her face and the _wide_ berth everyone is giving her. He knows she has power in school but he didn't know she command _such_ power.

It doesn't matter. She's easily annoyed and that's the most important.

"Is there a reason for you to be here, _Rem_?"

Just from her cold greeting, he knows that she is pissed, and didn't expect anything from him. It gives him a chance to distract her because she didn't suspect anything, and to annoy her because she's _already_ pissed.

"_**Mustache kicked me out from work, requesting me to take a break," **_he replies easily. He admits that it's actually a half-truth; Gregory _did_ kick him out but to distract her.

He got this feeling that he had been repeating "distract" so many times again.

Amanda rolls her eyes and grumbles something under her breath. He raises a curious eyebrow when a boy approaches her from behind, probably to say happy birthday to her with a wide flirtatious smile.

But when Amanda cracks her knuckles very loudly, he instantly makes a one hundred and eighty degree turn and definitely makes his way out through the furthest backdoor. Rem wishes he knows the boy's name, so he could write it down on the list to cross it out.

"That's _all_ he could think of; freaking _work_. He doesn't even know what today is." Decided to play stupid, he raises an eyebrow in curiosity. He snaps his fingers to gain her attention.

"_**What do we have today?"**_ he asks as genuinely as possible. Amanda reads his words through his eyes (or eye) and occasionally she saw through his lies. Lucky for him, she's a little too busy being angry and sulking.

"Nothing. _Nothing_ we have today," she murmurs sadly. He is surprised how quickly her emotions changed. Well, she _is_ a girl; they have the ability to quickly change their emotions. "Of course there's nothing we have today."

…He may never admit this out loud (as if he can) but he does not like how defeated and hopeless she sounds. It is something that he would not call Amanda.

"Come on, let's… go somewhere," she says before he could as she begins to walk away from where The Forge is. He is thankful for it though; the further away she is from the restaurant the better-

"EEUUGHH! I stepped on a sh-"

Amanda's sudden outburst nearly made him jumped out from his skin. She retracts back and lifts up one of her feet, looking down at the sole with disgust.

He looks at the crap right underneath Amanda's shoes. He silently wonders how he missed it before he sees something from it.

'_That could be the signal,' _he thinks to himself, because her birthday is actually a pile of sh-

"Rem, don't just stand there and help me with this! Where are you going!?"

He ignores her and makes his way to The Forge. He tunes out her voice as much as he can, which prove impossible because the more he tunes her out the louder she gets. He decides to _not_ tune her out.

"Rem, help me out with this!" Amanda yells behind him. He turns around and gives her a half-lidded look.

"_**Your crap, your problem."**_

He has to mentally pat himself in the back with that, because it actually involved a crap and it's actually _her_ problem and not his.

And the deep growl from her is just the icing on the cake, because he manages to annoy her without even trying.

'_I distracted her with a pile of crap. Now that is a story to tell, that is if I can actually speak.'_

.

The scowl on her face didn't go away. In fact, it has gotten deeper, it seems. Now that she had catch up to him, she lands a hard punch on his shoulder (again, elbow; he's too tall and she's too short to even land a hit on his shoulder).

"You're a piece of sh-"

_**HONK!**_

"-t, you know that Rem?"

"_**Should I point out the irony that it is you who stepped onto a crap?" **_Amanda growls at him in reply before landing another punch on the same spot (elbow, not shoulder; she's too short).

"Where are we heading?" she asks, still grumpy from the tone of her voice. Rem knows where he is taking her but he has to convince her than he doesn't know. In reply, he shrugs his shoulders before turning his head towards her, giving her a full view of his eyes.

"_**Mustache had kicked me out. I have nowhere to go beside the restaurant. Do you have a place in mind?"**_

"I'm feeling a little hungry, so let's just go to The Forge for lunch."

"_**Whatever you say, fawn."**_

'_I just hope I got the right signal, and that the setup is finished. What am I doing again?' _he thinks to himself, facing forward once more.

"And I'll give Gobber a piece of my mind for forgetting what's today," he could hear her mutters darkly under her breath. He pretends not to hear her mutter.

He also pretends not to hear the frantic whispers and the platters of shoes around the corner, just where The Forge is located.

"What was that?"

Unfortunately, Amanda noticed as she quickens her steps and looks around the corner with suspicious eyes. When she casts him a suspicious look he replies back with a blank one as he rounds the corner and makes his way for the suspiciously empty restaurant.

"Rem, what's going on?" Amanda asks as she catches up to him, the suspicious look didn't go away.

"_**I am not sure," **_he replies, turning his head slightly towards her. He decides to play along for a bit. _**"The restaurant wasn't this empty when mustache kicked me out."**_

They stop right in front of the restaurant, gazing through the window. While Amanda is utterly confused, Rem could see it on her face he is silently impressed that they had managed to hide everything from sight.

"Gobber don't usually close his restaurant at his hour, not to my knowledge," Amanda comments offhandedly. "Let's try going in."

She ignores the "Closed" sign and pushes the door open. He merely waits there and does nothing but waits for the surprise.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Amanda jumps a few feet into the air in shock at the shout from literally everyone that suddenly appeared out of nowhere and banners start to appear just as she enters the restaurant. Confetti pops there and here and showers with colorful papers.

Rem could've sworn the entire place almost shakes from the sheer power of the combine shouts. He has no idea how they managed to buy all of those stuffs in that short period of time but he is silently impressed.

He enters, watching with silent amusement as Amanda is showered with hugs and congratulatory from her friends and family. In the middle of an embrace from a friend he nicknamed "stick" (or is it "stone"? It's hard to tell for the blonde twins; they're so alike) Amanda turns towards him with a blinding smile.

"You knew," she says simply. "You knew this whole time." Rem shrugs his shoulders.

"_**Frankly, I only knew it just earlier today, so I do not know it the whole time," **_he replies honestly, but that didn't deter the smile from her face. She's about to say more but the girl who is hugging her suddenly pulls her, follows by her other two friends.

"Come on! The cake is waiting!"

They drag her off to another part of the restaurant where the cake is already lit and prepared while he stays where he is, letting his eye follows them. Whilst been dragged, Amanda manages to give him a warm smile over her shoulder before she got surrounded by those who are invited to her birthday party.

"Hey."

He turns towards the announcer of the voice and raises his eyebrows.

"_**Are you not supposed to be at her side over there?"**_ he asks, surprised that the mother to the birthday girl is at his side.

Linda smiles nonetheless. He realizes that Amanda has taken her mother's warm smile.

"I'll get to that later. Thank you for what you did today. We couldn't have done it without you," she says, to which he rolls his eyes.

"_**All I ever did was keeping her busy with a piece of crap. Nothing more."**_

"Still, that is something." The smile gets warmer, kinder. He's not sure what kind of smile that is; had never seen such smile ever before. "I'll say it again, Rem. Thank you for what you did today."

She gives his arm a squeeze before she quickly makes her way for her daughter when people start chanting "happy birthday". He lets the chants wash over his ears as he stands there by the entrance.

He recalls back at the wide happy smile she has on her face, and the happy vibe she radiates. Then, he notices a pile of gifts in a corner on the opposite side where everyone is at, definitely Amanda's birthday present.

He loses himself in his thought, fingering the green scarf around his neck as he stares at the gifts pile. Finalized with his decision he looks up at the sky through the window.

He hopes it's clear tonight.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

_Við vorum sammála um það  
Sammála um flesta hluti  
Við munum gera betur næst_

_Þetta er ágætis byrjun_

"_Ágætis Byrjun – Ágætis Byrjun__"_

The Forge is probably at one of its most lively moments right now. Well, to Rem, at least. He's not sure about the time before he is hired to the restaurant.

Gregory decides to open the restaurant to the public and have a massive discount on the menus. Customers start to pour in like tsunami and only trickle out very little.

While The Forge is at its most lively moment, it is also its messiest moment too, especially with the party going on (Gregory admits he regretted that decision just one hour after Amanda's arrival). Rem is working his butt off to keep the place clean but each trash picked up cause another one to fall.

Rem does not mind, actually. He had been in a much worse situation before, and that time he was younger even. He hadn't stopped ever since customers start pouring in.

Of course, Gregory demanded him to take a break because cleaning the place at the moment is entirely fruitless. Deciding to give the mustache man a little break, he obeys.

He approaches the birthday girl, who sits at a table with her mobile phone in one hand. He raises an eyebrow when he stands right beside her.

_**"You look quite concern, fawn. Is something the matter?"**_ Rem asks when she looks up at him. He had notice the concern frown on the blonde's face earlier. She looks back down on the phone.

"It's just... Hiccup hadn't contact me for quite a while now."

_**"Your best friend pencil? He is off from the country, am I correct? He is probably busy at the time."**_

"Still, something didn't sit right. Something is wrong." She looks very concern, Rem has to admit.

'_Maybe I should take advantage of this,' _Rem thinks to himself. He's been meaning to ask her about this best friend of hers that seems to be more than just meet the eye. He sits down on the chair on the opposite side of the table and makes himself comfortable.

"_**You had not talked much about him," **_he says when she looks back up at him. _**"Would you care to elaborate about this pencil boy?"**_

The moment he sees the thoughtful look on her face he quickly snatches her cup of content he has no idea what and downs on it quickly before throwing the plastic cup over his shoulder.

"Hiccup is… a weird boy," she starts hesitantly, finding the appropriate words. "He's sarcastic, even when he was a kid." There, he notices how soft her eyes suddenly become, and the fondness behind them.

"I've known Hiccup since we were both still toddlers, from what my mom told me. We've been close ever since. He's my best friend, on a level above Ruffnut."

"_**One might suggest there is something more,"**_ Rem comments but she didn't receive it, too lost in her thought. Her eyes slowly trail down to the table, effectively cutting any communication with him. Rem rolls his eyes.

'_Great, now she's going to rant her mouth out. I wonder if she opens up to the suggestion of writing it down on the tissue paper.' _He looks around in search of the said paper when Amanda speaks once more, gaining his attention.

He debates whether he should listen to her or not. Well, he did suggest her to elaborate on this best friend of her but now he's feeling a little tired and the fond look in her eyes gives him the impression that she is a little too blind.

He decides to half-listen to what she says. That's a good enough compromise, right?

.

He had no idea how long she had been blabber her little mouth about; he had lost track of time. He had barely caught anything she had said.

Something about… fish…bones… moving… vet… arts…toothless…emerald…south paw… are what he thinks he heard she is saying.

Now, _finally_, she has gone silent, which means she has probably finished her rant about this Hiccup boy. She raises her head albeit a little slower. It's slow enough for Rem to what he thinks is the best thing to do at the current moment.

"Thanks for listening to me, Re- REM! You big idiot! Don't sleep on me while I'm talking!"

She lands a punch on his shoulder quite hard. Rem pretends to look like he is rudely waken up and gives her a tired half-hearted glare. She huffs and turns away from him with a red angry face.

Making her mad never seems to stop amusing him.

While she is fuming in her seat Rem turns his attention to their surroundings. The customers are significantly lesser than they are before. The trash is all over the place and _all over the place_. The Forge is a complete mess, with Gustav and Madonna in the middle of it. He averts his eyes to the world outside of the restaurant.

It's dark outside, but more importantly the sky is crystal clear. Good.

.

"Astrid, it's time to go home!" Linda shouts when she notices how late it is.

"Oka- Aargh!"

Upon hearing her daughter's shriek Linda and her husband turns towards her to see what's happened.

Rem approaches them with three big strides and stops right in front of them. She just realizes that he is a good some inches taller than her husband. Had it been that long for her to realize that fact? She must've been too occupied with his scars to notice his staggering height.

_**"I will be stealing her for a while,"**_ he informs before striding over to the door without any other words. A stunned Amanda is dangling from his back, her feet hanging as Rem grasps her forearms over his shoulders.

"Wh- Wait, what? What's hap-" was what Linda hears before the pair exits the restaurant.

"Where are they going?" Vincent asks, staring at where they left in concern especially since it is already dark outside.

"I don't know," she replies, shrugging her shoulders unconcerned. "But I'm not worried. I trust Rem with our daughter."

"Did you see how the two interact?"

"Even a blind man could see it. Rem is… different, special, and a mystery. And you know how our daughter when it comes to mystery. I sense something is blooming."

"You mean…"

"Nah, not in that way. A boy has already booked that spot and they are too blind to see it. With Rem, there is something else. I can't wait for it to reveal itself."

.

"Rem, where are we going?" Amanda asks as she tries to get a better look of his eye. He didn't answer. He probably did but since she didn't have a look of his eyes she doesn't know what he is saying.

She leans forward more and cranks her neck to look at his visible eye. She stops when she realizes she is looking at his left eye over his left shoulder.

_'He is blind in his left eye, dead. I almost forgot about it. And so are the expressions in it. I can't read anything.'_

She quickly changes shoulder and peers into his right eye that is now glancing at her with a raised eyebrow.

_**"You are shifting so much back there. Are you uncomfortable, fawn?"**_

He bends forward, letting her rest on his back for a moment. He releases her arms and quickly puts his arms around her thighs, effectively giving her a proper piggyback ride.

"Why the piggyback ride?" she asks, now peering into his right eye more easily as she places her hands on his shoulders.

_**"I just feel like it,"**_ he answers simply without proper indication. She would've slapped the back of his head and demanded to put down, but she _is_ a bit tired now. So she silently welcomes the free ride.

"So where are we going?" she asks him once more, now relaxing on his back. He gives her a glance.

_**"Somewhere,"**_ he answers before turning back forward.

"Should I be worried? Are you kidnapping me?"

Rem shrugs his shoulders carefully in reply.

"I'm not getting any answers, am I?"

He nods his head. Amanda grumbles under her breath before slumping on his back. She is aware that it is quite late, and she could feel fatigue is creeping in on her. And Rem's rhythmic strides are not helping.

As she pushes down a yawn, she looks up and notices that they are currently in a familiar part of a forest. Rem is bringing her to his house. Has time really passes that fast when you are tired?

"Is there a surprise for me waiting in your home?"

Rem shakes his head as he walks pass his house and deeper into the woods. Amanda wouldn't admit it, but she is a little frightened.

"Rem?" she calls out, leaning up to catch his right eye.

_**"Do not be alarmed,"**_ he says, squeezing her thighs in reassurance. _**"Nothing is going to harm you around here."**_

"Where are we going, Rem?" she asks him once more, pressing a little bit. He glances at her through his narrow glasses.

_**"Be patient, fawn. We're nearly there."**_ Then he looks back forward. _**"In fact, we have actually arrived here,"**_ she reads from the corner of his eye. Curious, she looks up at what he is talking about.

The forest starts to clear up it seems, leaving a grassy empty field. He keeps walking forward until they are somewhat in the middle of it, where he finally releases her.

She looks around, confused, before giving him a frown, not seeing anything special about this place. Rem places his hands behind his back and gives her a soft look.

_**"Happy Birthday, Fawn."**_ Then he looks up into the sky. She follows his movement shortly after. She could only gape at what she sees.

Stars... So many stars... There are so many stars... She had never seen so many stars before. She is mesmerized, awed at the sight.

And the moon... she always thought that the moon looked a little lonely in the sky. But now... with the stars accompanied it...

They are so _beautiful_.

"Rem… How…" she trails off breathlessly. It takes quite an effort to tear her eyes from the stars to look into his eyes.

_**"I have found this place shortly after I found the cottage. I come here and stay whenever the night sky is clear."**_

"I've never seen so many stars before," she whispers, glancing up in daze before looking back at him.

_**"The lights from the city disturb the sky, preventing anyone from seeing them. Light pollution, I think they called. We are far away enough to not be obscured by light pollution."**_

Rem lies down on the soft grass and gazes up at them... at the beautiful stars. She follows his movement, lying down right above him. The tip of their heads almost brushed.

"Thank you Rem. This is the best birthday present I've ever have," she murmurs with a soft smile. Rem pats her head in reply.

.

The married couple hears someone knocking on their front door. Luckily they hadn't gone upstairs yet or else they might've missed it.

They are not surprise at seeing Rem at their front door. Amanda is blissfully sleeping on his back, her head resting gently on his shoulder, cushioned by the green scarf around her neck. She is almost hidden by the coat that is draped over her, keeping her warm from the cold air.

Linda smiles softly at the sight, her motherly hunch is getting proven more correct by the minute. She steps aside to let Rem in and leads him upstairs, to her daughter's room.

She watches as Rem pulls back the cover and gently pries her daughter off from his back. She watches as Rem lays her down on her bed and covers her gently. She watches as his eyes linger on her before they freeze on a broken swan on her windowsill.

With a final sigh, he tears his eyes from it and exits the bedroom, with his coat hanging on his forearm and his scarf draped around his neck.

"Why don't you stay for tonight?" Linda suggest quietly as she quietly closes the door.

_**"I do not wish to bother you some. So no, I will not stay."**_

"Are you sure?" Linda presses. "Do you ever get cold, Rem? From what Astrid described your home, you barely had anything to fight the winter."

_**"I had survived through multiple winters in that cottage, mind you,"**_ he replies before he walks away and descends the stairs.

"Stay for her then."

He stops in mid-step. Linda smiles.

"I've seen the way you look at her. She means a lot to you, because she reached out to you. I've seen the fondness in your eyes whenever you think no one's watching. She might not be happy, when she finds out you sat outside fighting against the cold."

His head lowers down as well as his shoulders. She watches as he plays with his scarf with one hand, contemplating for a bit. When she hears his defeated sigh, she knows she won him over. He turns and gives her a hard (with soft and gentle undertone) look, clearly knowing that she had won him over.

_**"I will take the couch and no more."**_ He turns back around, descends down the stairs and walks into the living room, preparing for a rest. Couldn't resist the urge, she follows him downstairs and leans against the doorway of the living room, watching him.

He slowly sits down on the couch. He looks uncertain but comfortable. He slowly lies down, still with his coat on and all, and rests his head on one arm of the couch. He is a little too big for the couch; his feet are dangling from the opposite side but he is sinking into the couch, looking very comfortable.

"Do you need anything, Rem?" she couldn't help but asks, seeing him without any pillows or blankets. He glances at her though his glasses.

_**"No more,"**_ he replies as he takes his glasses off and places them on the table nearly. _**"But thank you for the offer."**_ Linda smiles softly at him.

"Goodnight, Rem."

He didn't move for the longest time, giving her a half-lidded glance that seems to be empty yet full of emotions at the same time.

_**"...Goodnight... Doe..." **_He pulls up his green scarf, a gift from her daughter, until it covers his lower face once more.

She nods her head and walks back up the stairs to her bedroom where her husband is waiting. The smile on her face slowly fades.

Somehow… she gets this feeling that this is the first time someone had ever said goodnight to him.

.

Amanda yawns loudly as she climbs down the stairs and rubs the sand from her eyes.

She is surprised that she is in her bed when she woke up, remembering that she had slept in the middle of an open field gazing up at the stars for the first time. Rem had probably carried her home. She smiles at the thought.

She passes doorway to the living room, glancing in lazily. She didn't realize that her parents had replaced the couch with a new white one, with a hint of green too. She yawns once more, thinking of the coincidence that those are also the same color associated with Rem.

She freezes mid-yawn when her tired mind finally grasped the concept. She dashes back to the doorway, looking at the couch more intently.

Rem is peacefully sleeping, one arm behind his head on one arm of the couch, the other arm hangs from the side and his hand touched the carpet. His feet are dangling on the other side of the couch, being too big for it. His chest rises and lowers slowly, taking in unimaginably large amount of oxygen into his system before exhaling out the same amount of carbon dioxide.

Almost instinctively, she – quietly – rushes back upstairs before coming back to the living room.

She drapes the spare blanket on his form, gently so she wouldn't wake him up. Despite having the largest blanket she possesses, it is still too small for him seeing his feet are in sight.

This is probably the first time she had ever seen him sleeping. She expects him to have a soft feature or a gentle expression that's beside blank. Yet even while unconscious he wears the same expression, as if the blank look is his face and not an expression he wears.

But despite that, he looks very peaceful.

Quietly, she walks over to the home telephone, dials a number on her phone and puts it to her ear.

_"Yeah lass? Is anything up?"_

"Rem's going to be a bit late today."

_"I see. Alright then lass."_


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

_Á silfur á  
Lýsir allan heiminn og augun blá  
Skera stjörnuhiminn  
Ég óska mér og loka nú augunum  
Já, gerðu það, nú rætist það  
Ó nei_

"_Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur – Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust__"_

"Uhh… Where are we going, Astrid?" a boy with bright blonde hair that is almost white. The said girl smiles at him that makes his legs feel like jelly.

"I want you to meet someone; the earlier the better."

His heart is almost burst in joy. She's already planning quite ahead. He must be the luckiest person ever lived to have such intelligent, pure, innocent, ecstatic and doubtlessly beautiful girl as his girlfriend.

He had _just _moved in to Berk and instantly one of the school's most beautiful girls approached him. His mother always said that he has a charm that attracts beautiful girl but he didn't know it would be _this_ far.

"Who are we meeting?"

"A friend," Amanda merely answers. He blinks in surprise and confusion. They're going this way just to meet a friend? He means no offense but he admits this is slightly ridiculous.

"Is he important? For introducing me to him, I mean. It's uh… It's a "he", right?" he stammers quickly in recovery, feeling like he offenses her in some way. He admits he's a little nervous with this relationship, especially in a relationship with one of the most beautiful girls in his school.

"He's a guy," she reveals. Then she has a thoughtful look on her face. "I wouldn't say that his importance isn't like Ruffnut or Heather – they are my closest friends – and I only know him coming up to a year now. But… that is something about him that makes him important in a way."

Somehow, the way he speaks about this "guy" makes him feels concern. She didn't speak highly of him. Instead, she speaks about him in open fondness. As he thinks of this he realizes that they are approaching what seems to be a café or a small restaurant called The Forge with capital T.

"He owns this place?"

"No, he works here," Amanda answers as they enter. He admits that The Forge looks very lively and incredibly, _incredibly_ clean. He expects it to be a little bit dirty.

"Astrid! You're a bit later than usual."

A cheerful voice greets them as a waitress approaches them. He swears on his life that the waitress is Amanda's twin. He would've believed it if Amanda revealed earlier that she is an only child of her family.

"Hey, Camicazi. Sorry about that but I'm bringing someone." The Amanda-lookalike turns towards her. She gives him a sweet smile; a little _too_ sweet smile if he had to admit.

"Well hello there, handsome. I'm Cathy but _please_, call me Camicazi," she introduces herself, the smile turns impossibly sweeter. He gulps and nods his head nervously.

"Andrew Lemons," he says quickly. Cathy giggles behind a hand and her eyes glitters mysteriously. He doesn't know what he should be feeling right now. He starts to think whether he should follow Amanda the first place.

He mentally shakes his head. He _shouldn't_ doubt the thing he has with the most beautiful girl he'd ever met. He will not let this rare chance slip out from his hand! He subtly takes in a deep breath and broadens his shoulders a bit.

"Let me lead you two lovebirds to your table."

Somehow, he couldn't shake the feeling that the term "lovebirds" won't be staying long.

Nonetheless, he pushes down the blood rush as much as he can from Cathy's teasing word from her teasing smile while Amanda smiles at his side.

"Before we do so, I want to introduce him to someone first," Amanda suddenly speaks up. Cathy looks at her in confusion before her eyes suddenly light up.

"Oh right! He's right over there, probably mopping the floor again," Cathy says, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder. Amanda nods, grabs him by the upper arm and drags him to where Cathy had point.

She is dragging him to a very tall man, entirely clad in white clothes and has a woolen emerald green scarf around his neck, one end hangs in the middle of his back while the other on the front from his left shoulder. He's also holding a mop; probably the janitor or something.

"I want you to meet Hnýtur Rembihnút, or Rem for short. He's the friend I talked about." Just as the words left her mouth, the tall man slowly turns around. He swears blood leaves his face at the sight of the man.

Three giant claw-like vivid scars, starting from upper left side of his face and down to the lower right side of his face reaching to the side of his neck, crossing his eyebrows, his eyes, the bridge of his nose and his lips, scar on his left side of his jaw trails up to his ear, bullet wound on his tip right ear.

And do not forget about that Glasgow smile. It looks brighter… fresher when compared to the other scars all over his face, like it had put on him quite recently.

Beside the scars, he has nightly long black hair that held back by black hairband that is almost hidden by his hair. His eyes are brown behind his narrow green glasses, with the left one duller than the other.

Terrifying and intimidating are just two basic words about this tall man, _Rem_ is his name. How in the name of every God he could think of did Amanda make friends with this… this… _man_?

"Hey, Rem. How are you doing?… What, _no_. He is definitely _not._…Right, _sure_.… NO, I did _not_!"

He watches with silent confusion as Amanda speaks to herself, face flustered in red while glaring at the man before them. It is also the first time he'd ever seen her look so… angry.

"Uhm…" His word gains the attention of Amanda and… Rem. Somehow, Amanda looks surprised while Rem raised a scarred eyebrow.

"Y… You're still here," Amanda says with a mild stunned tone, as if she didn't expect her to be here.

Somehow he feels offended.

"Anyway, this is Rem. Rem, this is Andrew Lemons," she introduces and her smile is a bit more genuine than before. It looks much prettier on her face. And she radiates a bit more confidence in her that somewhat makes her glow.

"Hi…" he squeaks, almost inaudibly. The raised eyebrow slowly lowers down and nods his head in return. He awkwardly thrusts his right hand out for a handshake. Rem merely raises his own, which is entirely wrapped in bandage as the tall man gives him a blank look.

"Really Rem? _Again_?" Amanda glares at him once more. Rem turns his eyes towards her and the two are having a staring a contest. "_Right_, blame it on Gobber for "misplacing" the butcher knife, _again_."

Rem rolls his eyes and merely shrugs his shoulders. He lifts his left hand to the air, giving Andrew a clear view that Rem is missing his middle and little fingers and his entire hand is disfigured, as if it is burned.

What the _heck_ has _happened_ to this _man_?

_**SLAP!**_

Rem slaps the back of Amanda's head, causing him to jump slightly. Amanda freezes, shoulders tensed and eyes widened for some reason. She quickly recovers and glares heatedly at the tall man.

"What was that for?" she demands from Rem. "Right, _sure_. Blame it on _him_ then," she suddenly says before Rem could answer. He has a feeling that she is talking about him.

He knows that he staring at Rem too long when he suddenly pulls the green scarf up, covering the lower half of his face. Now he looks less scary but more mysterious. He doesn't know whether Rem is self-conscious about his scars or the action is subconscious.

Then he makes a shooing gesture at them, to which Amanda rolls her eyes.

"Come on, let's have lunch now that we're here," she says. He merely nods his head, still a little speechless at the sight of the tall man.

"How the _hell_ did you end up befriending him?" he demands the instant they sit down on an empty table.

"He saved me, twice. I think that's how we started," she answers casually as if she's already expects him to ask. Well who _wouldn't_ ask; for a person like _that_.

"Why didn't he… you know, say anything?" Amanda looks quite thoughtful as she tries to find the answer.

"I didn't clearly know but from what he told me, his… his throat has been cut, resulting in the loss of his vocal cord."

Andrew pushes down the bile that rose up his from his throat. That's a horrible thing to happen to a man. A cut to the throat would be fatal yet Rem survived but at the cost of his voice.

He must've gone through a lot, with those scars all over his face.

"And…" he pauses to swallow the remaining of the bile. "Why were you talking to yourself just now?" Here, Amanda scratches her head, as if she's trying to come up with an answer.

"Well… I _didn't_. I was speaking with Rem, actually. I understood his words. It's a Hofferson thing, you wouldn't understand."

Well he _couldn't_, and _wouldn't_ understand.

Once the couple ordered their meals, he realizes that Rem is start mopping the floor in front of him, directly behind Amanda a few feet away. He swallows but didn't comment.

"Is there…" he pauses to clear his throat, feeling nervous now that Rem is within earshot. "Is there something else between the two of you?" he asks Amanda. To his silent relief, she shakes her head.

"As I said before, we're just friends," she replies reassuringly. Rem suddenly holds up a small note that came out of nowhere with only Andrew can read. That gains his attention.

_"Friends"  
Mind the quote there_

Rem crumples up the note into a ball and throws it at the back of Amanda's head, to which she pointedly ignores. Then he continues mopping the floor like nothing had happened just now. While biting his lips, Andrew remembers how the two interacted earlier. He decides to ask another one.

"If I didn't know any ideas, I would've thought you two were a thing. That is, if he's not as scary as he is right now," he comments hesitantly. Amanda shakes her head once more.

"I assure you, we're not a couple. We're just really tight, if _he_ wants to admit it anyway." Once more, Rem has gained his attention when the tall man holds up another note. Andrew doesn't know _where_ he got a pen and a bunch of notes.

_Don't get me start with the pants  
She's very touchy with those_

Rem crumples the note and throws it at Amanda once more, at the exact same spot. Her eyebrow twitches but no more reaction than that. He returns back to his job, mopping the very same spot as before. Andrew silently takes note at this weird interaction.

He decides to ask a loaded question that might hurt him now or later on.

"Is there… anyone who is very close to you?"

While he didn't get an instant answer from Amanda, her actions speak louder than words. Her eyes go cloudy and she has a very soft smile on her face that is _not_ direct to him.

"Hiccup."

Andrew raises his eyebrow.

"You… need a drink for your hiccup?" he asks awkwardly. Amanda gently shakes her head, her eyes remain cloudy and the smile stays.

"Hiccup is his name, or what everyone calls him. His real name is Henry; he's my longtime childhood friend. He's somewhere in Africa right now because his mother is a vet."

She says with such fondness in her tone that Andrew chokes in a way that it shouldn't. Once more, Rem holds up another note.

This time it has two stick figures. One has two circles on the chest area – one being bigger than the other and Andrew resists the urge to look down at the observation – and long lines around the head area. The other stick figure is just a plain stick figure. Below them are words.

_Had never met the boy. Don't know how he looks  
Probably a nerdy boy with a bruised shoulder_

He crumples up the paper and throws it at the back of her head again before continue "mopping". Amanda shifts in her seat slightly and her eyebrows twitch even more. Still, she ignores him like this is an hourly occurrence.

"But don't worry about him, Andrew," Amanda assures him with a sweet smile. "You're the first guy I ever date."

Rem behind her coughs exaggeratedly and pointedly, almost choking him in the process as he struggles to hold up another note.

_NotE even  
Close_

Rem crumples it and throws it at the same spot again. A vein pops on Amanda's temple; her sweet smile turns toothy in restrain. Andrew begins to sweat; her action is scaring him a bit. This is not the same girl he had met earlier, the one who approached him.

"But I have to say though," she suddenly says, the toothy smile remains despite her soft voice. "Hiccup is a little bit distant now. Usually we chat through calls or live cam but he didn't reply to any of my messages. It's been months."

Their food arrived just as her toothy smile turns into a concerned frown. He starts to relax a bit but he still a little scared of her. Just as he is about to pick up a spoon and a fork, Rem holds up another note.

_Watch  
this_

Rem crumples the note and throws it at the back of her head.

In a flash, Amanda stands up and throws her ceramic bowl of her ordered meal at Rem, only for him to already sitting cross-legged on the floor and the bowl crashed into an unexpected customer behind him.

"Oh my- REM, what the fu-"

Andrew chokes on his own saliva.

"Are you fu-"

"Oww…"

"-ng me with your bulls-"

"Help…"

"-t!? You think this is funny, don't you!? You _enjoy_ making my life miserable and had done it _better_ than Ruffnut and Heather _combine_."

Throughout Amanda's very loud and very colorful outburst, Rem holds his hands up in defense, although they seem a little mocking, and he doesn't even look sorry at all. She gives him even more colorful words and a powerful punch on his shoulder that makes Rem falls onto his back before quickly rushes over to the injured customer.

Andrew sits there completely frozen as he replays the scene over and over in his mind and rethinks Rem's silent words. This girl is not as innocent, as kind or _anything_ he thinks she is to be. He now realizes why he regrets following her here.

He slowly turns his head towards Rem, who supports his head in his palm and gives him a pointed half-lidded dual gaze, drumming what is left of his fingers mindlessly on his cheek.

Amanda said that it's a Hofferson thing to understand Rem's words. But right here and right now, he doesn't need their ability to understand what he tells him.

_"Elope with her, you'd be dead."_

Andrew swallows thickly before glancing at Amanda. Still seeing her treating the injured customer, not paying any attention to anyone else, he slowly gets off from the table and sneaks his way out of the restaurant.

.

Rem silently snorts in well-hidden amusement as he watches the boy running away at full speed. He is right when a suitor has to deal with _her_ first before dealing with him.

Well, part of it earlier _was_ his fault. Amanda is being nice and friendly and _innocent_ with the boy, something he would say that _not_ Amanda-like, if he has a voice.

He watches with even more amusement when Amanda rushes back to the table, only to find the opposite seat is empty. She stares at it before slowly turning her attention to him with a look like a kicked puppy.

He resists the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, he merely takes out a familiar list and a pencil he hides within him. Without even breaking eye contact with her he crosses the name in a straight practiced line. Amanda sags with a genuine disappointed look on her face.

"I had a high hope for him." Here, Rem didn't resist the urge and lets his eyes roll free in their sockets.

_**"Well you know how the saying goes: when life gives you lemons-"**_


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

_Go do, you'll learn to  
Just let yourself, give into low tide_

_Go do!_

"_Go Do – Go"_

"_**Why am I here?"**_

_**MUNCH! MUNCH!**_

"_**Why am I here?"**_

_**MUNCH!MUNCH!**_

"_**Why am I here?"**_

_**CRUNCH! CRUNCH!**_

"_**Are none of you going to answer me? I will ask again, why am I here?"**_

_**CRUNCH! CRUNCH!**_

_**SNAP! SNAP!**_

"_**Do not ignore me here; I have a serious question to ask."**_

"Just shut up and enjoy the food, Rem."

Rem glares down at the blonde girl who is definitely ignoring him despite his constant buggering right up to her face. It is a completely new trait of her, to _actually_ ignoring him. He pulls his emerald green scarf up out of habit.

'_Oh no, she is developing a resistance to my presence. Oh, the cruelty of reality!'_

There is also a point to take that Amanda is in of those mood of her where she would drag him out from The Forge without his consideration. To make it worse Gregory didn't even complain a single bit.

Rem has a suspicion that Gregory uses his absence to torment Gustav and Madonna and takes enjoyment out it. The duo is really bad when doing his job even if it is just either sweeping or mopping.

Right now, Rem finds himself sitting on a large stereotypically red and white blanket in a park without decent amount of people around. He is surrounded by the Hoffersons, munching on the food they had kept inside a stereotypically brown woven basket with two flaps.

One might call this a picnic. But with Amanda sitting at his side (he is a little bummed that she is starting to resist him) Rem calls this "eat or die" or something along the line. He has no idea _why_ he is here with them.

Linda and Vincent is subtly fliting with each other behind their napkins. Rem resists the urge to balk at the word "subtly" because whatever they are doing, which happens to be flirting with each other (ew), the correct word would be placed at the _complete opposite_ of the spectrum of vocabulary of words of… of… _whatever_.

Amanda brought woodblock and her carving knives; yes, _knives_. The little hell spawn of a blonde girl is bringing some if not _all _of her weapo- er… knives. She would pause mid-carve to shove whatever she is eating; sandwich, obviously stereotypical. What _else _does one eats during picnic? And then she continues carving whatever she is carving onto that block of wood of her, cheeks puffed like squirrel, another hell spawn that could relate to the one next to him.

Him? He only brought his stomach and his green scarf because he still has no idea what he is supposed to do here. And freaking _everyone _is ignoring him, _and_ freaking out everyone else in the process. The ignorance is driving him crazy. It's usually him that ignored them and not the other way around.

Why is he even doing here? Why did Amanda drag him away from work, away from The Forge, to this place?

"Rem."

_Finally_, someone had acknowledged him at last. It looks like hope for humanity still stands, it seems. How he contemplates whether to ignore them in return, just as they did to him.

Although it was merely thirty minutes but hey! He was metaphorically dying from being ignored. He needs attention to ignore them!

He gives the mother to the hell spawn- ahem… the mother to the _adorable_ yet _recently infuriating_ girl a glance around his narrow glasses, trying not the let relief shown from his eye.

"Do you enjoy the food, Rem?" she asks nicely with a nice smile like her nice personality. He didn't have the heart to ignore Mrs. Nice Linda Hofferson.

"_**I am a little busy questioning why I am here in the first place to even pick out the food from the basket, Doe. But thank you for asking, they are really nice although I have never taste them," **_he replies with whatever that came across his mind. Despite his words Linda chuckles warmly.

"Astrid made them all, actually."

"_**In that case they taste horrendously terrible in the form of the worst terror of Earth."**_

"Hey!" The blonde girl at his side shoves him, making him realize that she has been paying attention to the conversation, which only leaves Vincent out from the blue (or is out of the blue? Wait, what does that term mean again?). "You didn't even taste them! They taste good, you know!"

"_**Whatever you are cooking or whatever you are doing are always and always will be taste just as bad as your tasteless personality, Fawn."**_

Amanda growls at him, causing him to glee on the inside knowing the fact that still has not developed any immunity to him, yet. He nearly moans internally in dismay just at the thought of the word "yet".

He will enjoy this kind of moment, where Amanda is easily annoyed. He will miss her once she developed immunity to him. He needs to pray early so he doesn't have to grieve later. How does he do such thing again? Oh yeah, now he remembers.

_**SLAP!**_

Amanda stiffens for a second before glaring up at him. He expects her to retaliate with a hard punch but instead she rubs the spot on the back of her head.

"What was that for?!" she yells at him with the combine of an angry growl. How she does such thing he has no idea. The Hoffersons are a weird family but he couldn't pry himself from them.

Even if he could they wouldn't let him; they had him wound tightly around their fingers, especially Amanda's fingers, calloused from all the woodcarving.

"_**You have yet to tell me why I am here at this picnic, Fawn." **_He hears a gasp coming from Linda, earning a concerned look from Vincent.

"Are you saying you're not enjoying this picnic?" she asks in a shaky, hurtful tone. She looks like she's about to cry and Vincent looks a little disappointed in him after hearing her words.

If Rem still has his vocal cord he would have groaned as loud as he can and let anyone nearby know it. The Hoffersons can be very manipulative at times, especially the mother, and he admits he had fallen for it for quite number of times.

But over time, he had seen right through it, especially right now. That does not mean he is not tired of it though.

Pulling the basket close he opens it and rummages his hand in it, swirling around the content inside like stirring a pot of soup without care before plucking whatever his hand lands on, which happens to be a sandwich. He resists the urge to roll his eyes.

"_**Are you happy now?"**_ he asks in annoyance after taking a huge bite out from the sandwich, leaving only half of it. The Hoffersons smile, borderline smirking, and returns to their previous activities (flirting and carving).

He notices Amanda is looking at him from the corner of her eyes, her hands is slow and careful from cutting her fingers since her attention is on him, waiting for his reaction or a comment about the food she made.

He gags as a comment, which earns him a light punch on his arm. Regaining his composure he looks at the sandwich at hand, noting that Amanda is still keeping her eyes on him.

"_**I have to admit Fawn, this tuna flavored sandwich is not half-bad."**_

"Is that a compliment I'm noticing?"

"_**Let me rephrase that: this tuna flavored sandwich is not as good as I expected."**_

"Did you really have that high hope from me?"

"_**This tuna is bad."**_

Amanda smiles sweetly returns instead of another remark before returning her attention to her work while he shoves the remaining sandwich into his mouth and quickly takes another one from the basket (after taking out an entire pie and a couple flaps of pancakes, both miraculously survived the abuse happened just earlier courtesy of him).

Has he ever mentioned that the Hoffersons have successfully irked him? He may have rubbing off on them a little too much, he admits as he readjusts his glasses. Not _annoyance_, that's his job. He half-mind his scarf so it won't get dirty.

A ringtone is heard and Amanda stiffens, earning an annoyed look from her mother.

"I thought I told everyone to put their phones on silent because this picnic is a technology free picnic," Linda says sternly but Amanda seems to ignore her completely as she digs through her bag for the ringing phone before quickly puts it to her ear.

"_Hiccup!_"

Well that explains it.

The relief in her eyes is evident, and so does the warmth. He could've sworn she would cry if the warmth gets any warmer.

"Where the f-"

_**RUSTLE!**_

"-k have you been, you stick figure son of a b-"

Well, fortunate for him the warmth suddenly transformed into a giant ball of fire that is the sun. He could almost see the cartoonish sweat-drop from her parents from her sudden change of mood.

"It's been nearly _a freaking year_!"

He could understand her worry; Henry (he thinks that's Hiccup's real name, or is it Humidifier? He's not sure but he'll stick with Henry because that's funnier. He's somewhat feeling a little silly today; probably Amanda's fault) had gone even before Amanda's birthday if he remembers correctly.

Being a curious man he is (or just a guy who would take anything that give him leverage over anything) he turns his head to Linda, who looks back at him waiting for his silent words. He does not know whether he should be disturbed or relieved that the Hoffersons now know when to expect him to speak.

"_**Can you tell me a little more about Pencil?"**_

He knows he had asked Amanda the same question months ago during her (Fifteen? Sixteen? Twelfth? He doesn't even remember) birthday but he can't help himself but _not_ pay much attention to her _just_ to annoy her.

And besides, this is Amanda's mother; she had seen what Amanda doesn't see. And he affirms that statement when he notices a small smirk that appeared before Linda quickly covers it with a warm smile.

"By Pencil I assume you mean Hiccup," she says, to which he nods. "He is Astrid's childhood friend, and they are best friends ever since," the smirk returns but now she didn't even attempt to hide it. "Though they are a little too blind to see that there is something _more_ between them."

Yes, that is enough information for him for now. Any longer and he might treat Linda the same way he treated Amanda back on her birthday.

Interesting information, though he had already suspected it back during her birthday (Perfect Segway, or is it how this generation say it nowadays?), again. He had come with the same thing but he lets himself doubting it. With Amanda, almost nothing is solid.

Now that he has her own mother confirming it, he has found another way to annoy Amanda; he is so going to abuse this information and he is so going to enjoy it, he thinks as he pulls out numerous foods (all of them are tuna flavored sandwiches) from the basket before putting it back to where it is originally placed.

He didn't know how long he is lost in his thought because Amanda suddenly puts her phone away with a sigh. He must've gone for a long time because surely she wouldn't just cut short a talk with a boy who hadn't contacted her for nearly a year.

"Any reason for his disappearance?" Vincent asks once Amanda sits right next to Rem. Amanda huffs, blowing a strand away from her eyes.

"Multiple problems and unfortunate events all lined up into a single line: going into an area with no network, busy, system down, lost network etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I'm not entirely convinced but that might explain everything."

"I wonder how Hiccup gets all his studies," Vincent thinks out loud. Rem has to agree with the man; from what Amanda always saying Henry and his parents are always somewhere remote because the boy keeps going off contact for quite a while. Maybe Henry is home-tutoring or something.

"His parents always find a way. I'm sure they could solve that problem," Amanda replies as she rummages through the food basket and freezes. "We're out of tuna sandwich."

He carefully hides the mountain pile of tuna sandwiches away from her sight but seeing the glare she is giving him, it looks like he can't hide them enough.

"Rem! _Give me some_!" She lunges at him with curled fingers. He holds her back with a hand on her face and quickly devours as much tuna sandwiches as he can.

"_Rem_! Don't finish them, _you_-"

Why was he at the picnic with the Hoffersons again?


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

_Wild beam, wild boy  
You burn so bright  
Till you illuminate  
One day you're out  
You give up the fight  
You slow down heart-rate_

"_Boy Lilikoi – Go"_

Why he is here again he has no idea. All that he knows is that he got kicked out from The Forge again, for working too hard. Is that even such a thing? Could someone get kicked out from a restaurant for working too hard? He admits that this is the first time it ever happened to him.

Gregory is a caring person, he has to admit. The man with braided mustache might take a little joy from others' misery, especially Gustav and Madonna, but Rem would say Gregory is a caring and nice person.

Why is he here again? Why is he at the school where the most hot-tempered girl studies at? Oh yeah, to annoy the living daylight out of her.

Annoying her is a good thing, it loosens her up a little bit (It actually didn't but he would like to think that it is) so he decides to annoy her when she least expects him (he thinks). That's his job besides being an employee to The Forge with capital T.

He wishes Gregory would name the restaurant that: "The Forge with capital T". It sounds more Gregory-y.

Now that he got that fact down, where is her class? Wait, does this school use that system where students have to move to the class subjects or are they just stay in one class? Do students move from one class to another or are just they stay put? What is he thinking? How does he know that?

He shakes his head to clear his distraught thought. He'll just walks around until it's lunchtime or something. Or it recess? What's that thing call again? What is even school? How did he get into the school anyway? Isn't there supposed to be some guards or securities or something?

He is lost in thought and he is lost in school. Now that's a first.

He turns around the corner, still a little lost in school and not so much in thought and-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

He wouldn't admit that he jumped a little when a boy suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs and ran away with arms flailing. He believes that boy is the same boy Amanda introduced to him a while ago, somewhere close to her sixteenth birthday, he believes. That boy must have been the first boy because the scream sounds so similar.

He has to double check on the list just to make sure he had crossed the name before suddenly remembers that it was _Amanda _who crossed the name herself, because the boy was the first one in line. He also remembers that he does not know the boy's name.

Students suddenly pour out from the classroom doors and into the hallway. He couldn't resist raising his eyebrows in surprise. Had he missed the bell, or the boy's scream is the bell?

Some students falter in their steps upon setting their eyes on him. He wouldn't blame them. It is not every day you get to go out of your class – free from the tortures inside – and greeted by a white behemoth filled with scars to the brim standing at the hallway like a bleached Grim Reaper.

They're giving him a _very_ wide berth, wider than when he was outside the school a handful of times before. A few gave him a timid wave, to which he politely waves back, keeping in mind to use the hand with _lesser _scars.

"Scar Face! Is that you?"

He hears a vaguely familiar voice as he sees a beefy looking student approaches him with an enthusiastic wave of a muscular hand (can hand even be _muscular_?). Who is this brunette boy again? He knows he is one of Amanda's close friends but he does not know which one.

"What are you doing here, Scar Face? Man, I hadn't seen you in _a while_! Astrid sure talks quite a lot about you, you know? It kind of makes me feels jealous but I'm sure I'll get a good beating if she hears that! She _loves_ to hit people and glare them down until they pissed their pants. I know because I've been there! Hey, check this out! I've been working out and gain quite a bulge! And-"

He has a feeling he'll be here for a while.

.

So there has been this notion that the Grim Reaper is, in fact, wears white and not black as everyone thought.

Amanda has no idea where and when this notion starts but it spreading very fast and very quick amongst the students. She had _just_ got out of her first class of the day.

"You have any idea what's all this about?" Heather asks her, also noticing the notion as she adjusts her bag on her shoulder. "It's not every day where _everyone_ starts talking about bleached Death."

"Yeah…" She replies off-handedly, keeping her ears open just in case if there is crucial information passing around. "Wait…" she suddenly says as her eyes narrow and ears perking up. "Tall, white, riddled with scars? Doesn't that sound like…?"

"_Big Guy_!?"

Amanda turns her head at where Heather is looking at and sees Scott and also none other than the subject of the notion.

"_Rem_!? What are you doing here!?"

"_**As I always has been: annoy the living daylight out of you," **_he replies, adjusting his green scarf to cover up the lower half of his face, almost effectively covering up his scars.

"Why aren't you at The Forge working?" Heather asks after greeting with a wave hello, to which he replies back with a little wave.

"_**Mustache kicked me out for working too hard. Is it really that common for one to get kick out for working too hard?" **_Amanda translates what he says to her friends.

"Scar Face is a cool dude!" Scott chimes in enthusiastically. "He listens to all the things I said to him without complaining!"

"_**I have no idea what he was saying earlier."**_

"What are you doing here anyway?" Heather asks, curious. In response, Rem jabs his index finger on Amanda's forehead, effectively making her mad and also gave Heather the answer.

"What was that for!?" Amanda hisses after throwing a fist to his elbow, to which he rubs for a second before letting it go.

"_**Pretty much what I wanted to do: annoy you."**_

"What are you going to do, standing beside my desk for the entire period?"

Rem didn't answer immediately.

"Rem, don't."

"_**That would seem to be a very good idea I might see myself actually do it."**_

"I'll kill you if you do."

"_**That pales in comparison to me standing next to you for your next class, and chew a bubblegum probably. Sadly there is no bubblegum on my person. Maybe I'll find one under the table."**_

"Ew, Rem; gross, no." The group then realizes how quiet the hallway has become.

"Crap, we need to go to class quickly," Heather comments. Scott has already rushes his way to his class. "I'll be going. See you later, Rem!" she waves at the man before dashing away. Rem continues to wave to her disappearing back.

"_**I am looking forward to attending your class."**_

"Rem, no. Stay out."

"_**It will be-"**_

"_Stay out of school, Rem!_ I don't want you to scare the living daylight out of the students around here and I don't want to be responsible for your action!" Her sudden raise of voice had taken the big man by surprise, if the raised eyebrow says anything.

"_**Fine, fine," **_Rem replies with narrow eyes. _**"I will be going out for now but I will be back later. Before I do go, I have one thing for you."**_

"Oh, and what that might be, dare I s-"

_**SLAP!**_

Instantly, Amanda shuts up. Her blue eyes widen, her shoulders tensed and her entire body froze out of instinct. Rubbing the spot on the back of her head she glares up at the white clad man.

"What was that for?" she demands through her teeth.

"_**That is for the unannounced picnic you dragged me to a few days ago and also making me keep forgetting to slap you for it."**_

"Oh sure, I am very pleased you _appreciated_ the picnic," she replies, sarcasm dripping from her tongue.

The two goes their separate ways; Rem goes out and Amanda goes to her class though a minute late but pardoned.

Unbeknownst to the two, another pair of blue eyes stares with glitter in her eyes and a wicked grin on her lips. She snickers quietly before acting nonchalant before anyone notices.

.

"-kind of a little bit different but he is still the same. Tired and stutters a little more than our last conversation last year but he is still _Hiccup_. I haven't heard about Valka and Stoick actually; I might chit chat with them the next time Hiccup calls, catching up with all the stuff."

"I know Astrid could speak a mile, I did not know it is _actually _a mile long," Heather subtly whisper to Rebecca. Sitting beside her, Trevor is stuffing his ears with a pair of napkins, the second pair he found, to drown the words coming from Amanda's mouth. Scott and Fredrick seem to be missing though, though earlier Rebecca mentioned that Fredrick is staying in class for something.

Rem had also disappeared, though they suspect Amanda had sent him away.

Henry has recently called Amanda, and she became very excited to tell the story to the whole world, or more accurately her close friends. Of course, none of her friends were expecting this, or looking forward to this.

She hadn't been stop running her mouth ever since she arrived to the cafeteria, the only place where she could run her mouth free. Their ears might fall off any second now.

Rebecca, Heather notices, has a wicked smile on her face. Knowing Rebecca, she is up to no good.

"Watch this," Rebecca whispers to Heather while Amanda continues on and on with her endless rambling. Rebecca brings her hand up and…

_**SLAP!**_

Instantly, Amanda's rambles stopped with her mouth shut automatically. Her sapphire blue eyes widened, her shoulders tensed and her entire body froze out of instinct. Following this is a howl of laughter from the other blonde girl while the brunette just stares with gaping mouth.

"I am so going to abuse this!"

"You son of a bi-!"

.

Amanda stomps her way out of the school, blue eyes scanning for one man in particular. He is right outside the double doors, waiting for her expectantly. She doesn't care if he had been walking around or had been standing there since she sent him away. She storms her way to him, his eyebrows slowly rise as she gets closer. She punches his elbow hard when she is close enough.

"_**Is there a reason for such offense?"**_

"For _your_ offense."

"_**I beg your pardon?"**_

"That thing you did when you slap my head! Now _Ruffnut_ picked it up."

"_**I have absolutely no clue what you are talking about." **_She growls at him in respond.

"Ruffnut won't let me live it down, all because of _you_!"

Rem didn't reply, even the way he raises his hands up in a mock-surrender didn't improve her mood. She punches his elbow once more before automatically storming off to The Forge. She doesn't stop, cursing under her breath, at Rebecca, at Rem, at the slap, at Rem again because screw him. He did this to her and she is not ashamed to point every finger at him.

She didn't look at where she is going. She ignores the quick finger snapping that obviously coming from Rem. She has no mood to pay any attention to hi-

_**HONK! HONK!**_

She turns her head sharply to the left, standing in the middle of the road like a dear in the headlight as a pickup truck approaches her at an alarming rate, despite the screeching sound of the tires. She barely registers the hand that grips her elbow but the force that pulls her away causes her to gasp before slamming into a strong chest.

The truck speeds away. She narrowly avoided the crash. Her heart was racing in her chest beating a hundred miles an hour. If she had been a second slower…

Fortunately, Rem's – her savior once again – quick reflex saved her life if he had not pulled her to his side. His fingernails are digging into her arm, and she could feel his hands are shaking. It could just be or imagination or she is making big assumption but…

Is… Is Rem scared?

There is this look in his eyes; it looks very close to fear yet it's different. It bears the resemblance to the look he gave her before he ran away a while ago.

"_**You need to keep your temper in check, Fawn. That right there shows that it could be the death of you."**_

He has finally released her, yet she could still see that his hands are still shaking. He is still – dare she says it – scared. And that is something foreign when it comes to Rem that she knows of.

She always takes Rem to be fearless, like a true Hofferson even though he is clearly not a Hofferson. Maybe that's why she and her family are close to him: he is almost like them.

She looks back at the Glasgow smile on his face, remembering back to _that_ time.

"Rem?" she calls out. He tilts his head towards her signaling he's listening. "What do you afraid the most, Rem?" The man flexes his fingers, willing the tremble to disappear.

_**"Losing someone."**_ He didn't look down at her, yet he answers anyway.

"…Who?" He stops flexing his fingers, seeing that it is pointless that his hands keep trembling.

_**"…Anyone."**_


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

_En allt kemur fyrir ekki neitt  
Kominn í niðurlot  
Veit ekki hvað plan skal taka  
Kominn í ráðaþrot_

"_Hengilás – Go"_

"You alone here?"

The blonde looks up and sees a similar blonde girl looking down at her, holding a tray full of various kinds of cups and glasses, all empty. She puts her pen down and sighs tiredly.

"Heather's relative is coming so she's having a lot of chores to do. Ruffnut's hunting down Eret, _again_. Snotlout is at the gym with his dad, Fishlegs at the library and Tuffnut's attending cooking lesson."

"One half of the twins can cook?" Cathy asks, surprise in her tone. "I thought Ruffnut is the more levelheaded one than Tuffnut."

"She _is_," Amanda confirms. "It's only Tuffnut that is more talented than her. Did you know he had swept a girl off from her feet when he cooked her five star meal four months ago? I don't think she's over him yet."

"Dang, that's impressive. I might coax him to cook me for dinner."

Amanda raises her eyebrows at Cathy, who has a faraway look on her face.

"You uh… You might want to rephrase that?"

"Say what?"

"…Never mind."

Heavy footsteps are heard approaching. They look up and see Rem approaching them, hands filled stacks of dirty dishes instead of a mop or a broom, probably helping Cathy.

"_**Fawn."**_

"Yeah?"

"_**I saw the news forecast for today. The sky is clear tonight."**_

She manages to hold back the gasp that threatens to escapes her lungs, but she couldn't hold back to excitement that courses through her veins.

"_**If you want to come, I will be-"**_

"I'll be there," she cuts him off a little too quickly. "I'll be there. It… It's been a while since the last time." Rem nods before walking away. Cathy raises an eyebrow at her in mild curiosity.

"It's mildly annoying that only you who understand Rem's words. I'm kind of jealous." Amanda snorts.

"_Please_. I can _barely_ understand Rem at times. Sure, I can hear his words but I can't understand him all the times."

"You know what I mean, Toothpick. What were you two talking about?"

"Nothing you should know."

"Ooh, something lewd, I see."

"It is _not_. Shut up."

"Come on, you can tell me."

"Ugh, you're almost as bad as Ruffnut," Amanda groans.

"Don't compare me to that lunatic, _please_. I have dignity."

The pair hears a loud whistle. Turning towards the source, Rem is peaking at them through the kitchen door. He points at something inside with his thumb.

"Welp, work's calling for me. See you around, Toothpick." Cathy runs over to him, who politely widens the door for her before disappearing inside. Amanda huffs softly, feeling lonely again. It's not fun being alone; she reluctantly admits that she's looking forward for Rem's presence, no matter how annoying he can be.

'_And tonight…' _her thought got interrupted by her phone ringing in her pocket. She fishes it out and puts it on her ear without looking at the caller.

"_Hey Astrid, Ruffnut and I are going out for a little bit of a shopping at the mall tonight. You want to come along?"_

"Really? I thought your relatives are coming."

"_Flight delayed; they won't be here until tomorrow. So, are you coming along?"_

"Sorry Heather, I have plan for tonight."

"_Oh. Well then, your loss. What're you having?"_

"The usual."

"_Ohh, wish I could come but Rem still said no. He did say no, right? Or are you just lying to me this whole time and he had said yes the entire time?"_

"I did _not_ lie, Ice Queen. And even if he did say yes, I say no."

"_Wow, that hurts, Astrid. You've wounded me." _Amanda rolls her eyes as she picks up her pen once more. _"So what are you doing right now?"_

"Doing homework at The Forge due tomorrow."

"_Homework? What homework? Astrid, don't mess with m-" _Amanda clocks off the phone without care and puts it aside. Her homework is almost finished anyway, but before she could write another word she fishes out her phone from her pocket once more and shuffles through the notification.

Once she didn't see a certain name pop up she sets her phone down with a sigh. She'll push that matter to the side for the moment.

'_And tonight…'_

She did not get it very often; the weather usually doesn't agree with her, or the nights were too cloudy. Those, and there are times where Rem refused to let her go; she would've gone there herself if she knew the way.

But tonight though, it will be one of those wonderful nights.

.

The moment she walks into her home as the sky darkening, she could already tell that her family is going somewhere, judging from the smell of perfume and their fancy dressing.

"Welcome home, my daughter," her father greets her, adjusting his black vest in front of a mirror in the living room.

"Astrid, dear, you want to go to the theater tonight?" her mother asks between applying lipsticks.

"Sorry Mom, but I have a plan for tonight."

"Oh." Linda looks disappointed at her decision but she's not guilty about it. Five stars worth nothing to five billion stars. "Well, maybe another day. What's your plan tonight?"

"The usual."

"Ooh, really?" Linda gives her a smile. "Can your father and I come along?"

"Sorry Mom, but Rem strictly says no. Heather asked the same thing; Rem turned her down." Her mother sags and sighs, feeling disappointed once more. "Why the fancy look just for a movie?"

"We're invited for a private screening before showing the movie to the public," Vincent answers, putting himself between them with a wide smile on his face. "We don't get that offer often! Unfortunately, seeing you won't be coming, we have an extra ticket."

"Maybe we'll bring the neighbor's dog; that should make it up right, darling?"

"I don't know Honey, their goldfish looks promising."

Amanda quickly leaves the living room before the topic gets out of hand. Knowing her parents, they might get into a fight over something miniscule, like they usually do. And besides, she needs to prepare for tonight. She just takes a quick shower and puts on some decent clothes; no need to look fancy for tonight.

"Astrid! We're going now!" Amanda hears her father – thankfully not her mother – shouts from downstairs, just as she exits her bedroom with a jacket draping over an arm. "Behave yourself while we're gone!"

"Don't worry about that; Rem will keep her in line." Amanda rolls her eyes and sighs as she hears the front door slams shut.

"As if I need _him_ to keep me in line," she mutters under her breath. "More like _I _need to keep _him_ in line."

She double-checks the entire house, making sure everything's locked and all before exiting the house herself and locks the door behind her. She looks up at the sky, taking notes of how dark it is now. Before she runs off, she fishes out her phone from her pockets and shuffles through the notifications popped up.

She squashes down the disappointment when she didn't see Henry name pop up. She really misses him; it's been over two years since he had left. She shoves the phone back into her pocket and immediately rushes to a specific direction.

She'll deal with Henry on another day. For now, she'll enjoy what is currently available to her.

.

She pulls the jacket tighter around her as she walks through the forest, following a familiar though hidden path. She ignores the howling wind, the only sound of the night; the night critters are nowhere to be seen tonight, it seems.

She arrives at a small house, where a tall white figure standing in front of it, clearly expecting her to arrive.

"_**You're here early."**_

"You've been waiting for me much earlier."

"_**I did not."**_

"Liar."

"_**Do you want to go and visit the stars or are we just going to stand here and argue back and forth?" **_Rem interjects before they dissolve into a squabble, like they usually do.

"You win this round-"

"_**I never won when it comes to you, Fawn. Even if I do, I do not."**_

"Shut up and lead the way, Rem." He narrows his eyes and adjusts his glasses but didn't say any other words. He turns around and walks off to seemingly in a random direction.

Of course, this is not the first time she and Rem had walked in the direction. They had been headed off at the same direction for some times, though she can only count those times on both hands. She wishes she could come more often.

Rem is a little quiet at the moment; usually he would try to annoy her at any chances he could get, and now is one of those chances. Maybe he is tired; he's a little more mellow and quieter when he is tired.

Though, Rem is not someone who is tired easily. Gregory could give him extra work and stay at The Forge until three in the morning and Rem would still spare a piece of paper and stick it onto her bedroom window just to annoy her before heading home.

There is also the fact that such event _had_ happened. _Twice_.

Maybe Rem's just wants to stay quiet, or maybe he is mentally tired. Even after like almost a year of knowing the tall man – probably more, she's not actually counting the days – he is still a walking mystery, though the mystery grows lesser and lesser every day.

"_**We have arrived," **_he suddenly speaks startling her. She realizes she had been staring at him the whole time. Maybe he realized she had been staring.

Maybe _that's _the reason why he was staying silent. If that's the case then he was trying to get her flustered at being caught, to which she is.

Leave it to Rem to do the usual things in any other ways possible. Even when he is silent he had found a way to make her flustered. She lightly punches his elbow, to which he raises an eyebrow at her.

"_**If you do not feel like enjoying the night then maybe you should not have come, Fawn," **_he comments while rubbing the spot instinctively.

"That's for getting me flustered."

"_**I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, Fawn. Are you starting to pull blames right out from your butt just to land a hit on me?" **_She ignores him and moves forward to the center of the grassy clearing. She hears Rem clicks his tongue behind her; probably saying to her don't ignore him or something. She ignores that one too, leading to Rem sighing in dismay behind her.

She stops somewhere in the middle of it and sits down. She slowly lies down, letting her eyes trail to the night sky and releases a blissful sigh.

The stars are beautiful tonight, just as the other nights she had been here. They're always beautiful no matter what; nothing had ever topped this one yet. It makes her forgets about almost everything: homework, Rebecca, school, Rebecca, stress, Rebecca, and Henry's absence.

Recently, she's really feeling his absence, starting to really missing him. She had it all together ever since he left. Yes, there were some instances where she really missed him but she quickly got over it.

Now… she admits his absence is somewhat stifling. She looks through her phone more often, hoping to see his name popping up at that second, hoping to hear his voice or a text from him. She misses him, more than she care to admit.

Her view got block my Rem's stoic face, one end of his scarf tickles her nose.

"_**I would not be worried on the fact that you are currently crying, Fawn, though I do worry on the sadness written all over your face," **_he says. His words cause her to realize that she is actually crying. _**"May I ask what is wrong, Fawn?" **_He sits down, legs crossed over one another, right beside her.

"You… wouldn't understand," she slowly replies as she sits up and places her arms around her legs. Rem raises an eyebrow.

"_**Try me," **_he challenges her. She sighs and rolls her eyes a little.

"Have you ever missed someone?"

"_**I take it that you have been missing Pencil," **_he says in conclusion, straightening. _**"Is that what had been bothering you the whole day?" **_She sighs, though that's already enough to give him the answer it seems. _**"I apologize that I could not relate to you in the current matter. I had never missed anyone in my lifetime before."**_

She snaps her eyes to Rem, giving him her full attention. He is now resting an elbow on his knee and places his head in his hand.

She… She almost forgot that Rem is alone for most of his life. Everyone left him before he ever got the chance to miss anyone. Nobody had stayed long enough for him to miss.

What is her pain compared to his? Hers seems like a papercut to his bullet wound in comparison.

Wounds… She focuses fully on his face.

She had completely forgotten that Rem is _riddled_ with scars, both outside and inside. Three giant claw-like scars across his face, a scar on his left side of his jaw trails up to his ear, bullet wound on the tip of his right ear, and the Glasgow smile on his cheeks. She had _completely_ forgotten about those.

The more she gets to know him, the more she forgets his scars.

She slowly averts her attention to his left eye.

Almost instantly, her Uncle Finn lifeless eyes flash before her eyes. She successfully resisted the urge to flinch. That effect seems to stay. His left eye still reminds her of a lifeless body.

While she had known him more and more every day, he mostly stays the same.

"I'm…" What is she saying sorry for? That he is alone? That he could not relate to her missing someone? Rem sighs and slumps his shoulders.

"_**Why do not we just set the matter aside and enjoy the night? You had been wanting for tonight and now you have got it."**_

She does not know whether he is talking about _her_ or _himself_. Nevertheless she nods her head and lies back down on the soft grass. Her vision fills with starry sky once more and she releases a sigh. She hears Rem lying down right above her.

"Thank you, Rem." She had said that every time she went here but tonight it feels different. She's not sure _what_ she is thanking him for. She hears him shuffling on the grass beside her but not making any sound to gain her attention; merely moving to get himself comfortable probably. She pays little attention to him and focuses back on the sight above her, hypnotized by them once more, loving them.

Even when the stars suddenly go blurry they are still beautiful.

.

Linda and her husband had just arrived home when the married couple hears two firm knocks on the front door. Linda calmly opens the door, already knows who is on the other side of the door. If it's not their daughter then it is Rem who has their daughter carried on his back, his white coat draped over her and his scarf cushioned her head on his shoulder.

It's a familiar sight, having it happened often even though only two hands full.

With practice, Rem carries Amanda to her bedroom, gently easing her into her bed and covers her with blankets before heading off to the living room and lays himself down on the sofa. He had learned that he couldn't leave whenever he arrived at their home late.

"Anything interesting happened?" she asked him as her husband heads upstairs, preparing for bed. Rem opens an eye and gives her a half-lidded look.

"_**Fawn is missing Pencil terribly."**_

It takes her a while to figure out who is Rem referring to as Pencil. It's proven a little difficult to know who is who with Rem's chosen nicknames to them. He's _very clever_ when it comes to nicknames.

"She couldn't hold back, it seems. Hiccup's absence had probably crashed down on her," she concluded. Rem shrugs lightly and closes his eyes, effectively ending the conversation, though she is not finished. "Did you say anything to her to comfort her?"

Rem opens his eye once more, giving her another half-lidded look.

"_**I had never missed anyone in my lifetime, I have you know. So I could not relate to such feeling."**_

Her shoulders slump with guilt. She almost forgot that Rem had nobody before, and such had never experience affections, or in this case, missing someone special. It makes her sad.

Rem closes his eye again and sinks into the couch, releasing a sigh and preparing for sleep to take over. Knowing that Rem wouldn't say anything more, she turns off the light.

"Goodnight Rem." She didn't bother to wait for him to reply before she leaves.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

_Hlustar á  
Hjartað slá  
Innanfrá  
Brjóstkassinn  
Út og inn_

"_Rafstraumur – Kveikur"_

When Amanda and her group of friends enter The Forge, he notices the female brunette, Heather is her name if he recalls (he needs to start remembering their names from now on), has a very wide and very happy smile on her face. Cathy thrusts the dirty pile of plates into his hands, taking him by surprise, before dashes towards the group, throwing her arms around the brunette.

"Happy birthday!" he manages to catch from Cathy's squeal.

_'Ah,'_ he internally thought. _'It is her birthday today.'_ That would explain the happy smile and the happy bunch. He wonders if he should give her a gift; after all, she is Amanda's female best friend if he recalls (or maybe it's Rebecca? He already forgot).

He half-expects to bring her to the field to stargaze tonight but decides to against the idea. That kind of gift is… very dear to him and he rather keeps that to one person only. And besides, from how the clouds rolling in he does not think the sky would be clear tonight.

He finally decides to give her a small celebration from himself personally later, hoping she does not mind a small show that involves carrots.

He quickly disappears into the kitchen, carrying Cathy's dirty plates with him and prepares all the tools needed for later.

.

"Hey, Big Man! You here to join us?"

Amanda turns her head where Rem is approaching them, carrying a chair in one hand and balancing a cutting board in the other.

_**"I was about to ask that question myself but since you had offered yes, I would like to join the crowded table,"**_ he replies, even though he knows Cathy won't be able to read it. He places the chair right to Amanda's left and sits down before placing the cutting board on the table. On it are two carrots and numerous knifes.

"Why are you bringing those?" Amanda asks, nodding towards the said stuff.

_**"I will get to this later,"**_ Rem replies as he picks up a knife and a carrot at starts cutting away carefully. Following his words, she didn't comment any further, merely curiously glances at his working daft hands.

"Hey, Ísjaki, you aware it's Heather's birthday today?" Rebecca asks the oldest of the crowded table. The birthday girl blushes and a shy smile creep on her lips. Amanda turns her head to Rem, wanting to hear his words.

_**"I am recently aware. Greet her happy birthday for me, Fawn."**_

Amanda relays the message to Heather, whose smile widens and then chatting with Cathy and Rebecca at her side. Then, a ringtone is heard and Heather hastily takes out her phone.

Amanda feels a soft nudge to her left, where Rem is sitting. She gives him a questioning gaze and he nods in front of him, towards Heather. She turns her attention to the brunette, wondering why the gesture.

She notices the soft look on Heather's face and the loving yet sad smile on her lips as she gazes down at the screen of her phone. Amanda understands; Rem is curious.

"Oh, her brother just texted her happy birthday."

_**"Brother? I was not aware Lingerie has a brother."**_

"He's in the army, serving for our country. Derrick, everyone calls him Dagur, is very caring though the war is making him a little insane, from the last time he came. He plays a heart-killing violin though."

_**"He sounds like an interesting person."**_ Amanda merely hums in reply to that. She glances back at his hands once more and her curiosity peaks.

"What are you making anyway?" she asks, frowning at Rem's work with the carrots.

He had cut one carrot into a specific length and carefully hollows it out. He then cuts a notch at one side of the carrot. With another carrot, he had made a small plug that shoved one of the two hole of the carrot, right where the notch is at with the plug has just small space with it at one side. With the remaining carrot, he had pared it down until it fits snugly in the hole of the previous carrot, able to slide in and out easily.

Rem turns his attention to Heather, who finally looks up and at him. He lowers his scarf and brings the two piece carrots to his lips. Suddenly, a soft tune meets everyone's ears as Rem fiddles with the carrots.

A very wide smile creeps onto Heather's lips, the corners of her mirthful green eyes crinkle. The sadness that had once invaded her feature is now completely eliminated as Rem plays a happy birthday tune to her with a pair of carrots.

When the tune ends, everyone at the table lets out a roar of laughter, Heather being most cheerful one. Rem didn't join them, though Amanda could see the amusement and satisfaction in his eyes as he puts down the carrots.

"That was _beautiful, _Rem," Heather says, getting her mirth under control. "Funny, but still beautiful. _Thank you_. I hadn't laughed like that for quite a while," she adds with honesty. Amanda notices Rem straightens up and she couldn't help but smirk a bit.

He looks quite proud of himself.

"How did you do that!?" Trevor leans onto the table, staring excitedly at Rem. In replace for a verbal answer, he gives the blonde boy the carrots who inspects it excitedly with Fredrick and Scott lean in curiously at his sides.

"It's build like a slide whistle," Fredrick concludes, taking a closer look at the vegetable. "How did you come up with stuff like this?"

"_**When you are bored and had many times by your side, you tend to spend it to do something to entertain yourself. One of them is that," **_Rem answers, to which she replies so everyone could understand.

"One of them?" she echoes, looking back at him with a raised eyebrow. "Are you saying you have more tricks up your sleeves?"

"_**I am not denying anything," **_Rem shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly, returning her look. _**"Though recently I had learned a couple of pretty useful tricks. One of them is the ability to annoy you and the other is to shut you up."**_

She responds by shoving him hard but soft enough to him not tumble down from his chair.

"As if you _can_ do both," she retorts weakly, because she knows he _can_ do both but will never, _ever_, admit it even if her life depends on it.

"_**Lucky for you, I only do the latter part when you deserve it. Right now I see no reasons to do so, so I let your mouth run free. That does not mean you get it to attach to another set at any given moment at any given time."**_

At that she punches him hard enough for his chair to slide and him almost tumbling.

"What are you two talking about?" Heather asks between amused chuckles.

"Nothing," Amanda says quickly before Rem grabs her chin which promptly shuts her up. And then he flicks his fingers at her lips, causing her to flinch but unmoved from his hand. Then, he gently rests a finger Heather's lips, who pulls back in surprise and a blush on her face at the contact.

"Lips… to lips?" she asks hesitantly before finally grasping the concept. "Are you two talking about kissing?" The amusement returns back to her green eyes and her lips formed into a teasing grin.

Amanda pulls her head from Rem's hand and punches his arm once more, even harder than before, hard enough for him to grab onto his chair for him and the chair itself to not fall over.

"We did _not_," she snarls back while glares heatedly at the white clad man, who rubs his bruising arm but he did not seem to regret where the topic has went, judging from the look in his eyes (well it's still hard to figure out Rem but the look at the moment is a little different than the one he always wear).

"_**I am merely pointing out that you should be more conscious on what comes out from that mouth of yours and where you put them. I would like Lingerie to hear that but you would lie through your teeth."**_

"You broke it!" Rebecca suddenly shouts, pointing an accusing finger at the three male teens of the tables which each holds a piece of the carrots. "The masterpiece is broken!" she cries to the ceiling.

Chaos ensures when the twins suddenly pounce on each other, with Fredrick trying to break the fight while Scott cheering at the side. Amanda hears Heather sighs while Cathy giggles at their antics.

"They fight like Gustav and Madonna," Cathy comments between giggles. "Only this time, they're fighting like siblings," she adds with a knowing smirk. Amanda could feel the same smirk teasing on her lips.

"Oi! New Recruit, Camicazi! Your break's over and get to work! And break off those two, would you Rem?" she hears Gregory shouts from somewhere. Rem gathers the cutting board and the knives while Cathy picks up all the dishes on the table.

"Well, time for us to get to work. Happy birthday again Heather!" Cathy gives the birthday girl a one last hug before turning towards Rem. "I'll be taking that while you break off those two." She takes the cutting board and knives before dashing off to drop off the stuff in the kitchen. Before he could walk to the dueling twins, Heather grabs onto his sleeve effectively freezing him on the spot.

"Thanks for the birthday song, Rem," Heather says, smiling up at him when he looks down at her. "Usually Dagur, my older brother, would find unorthodox way of singing the happy birthday song but… since he's not here, you're kind of make it up for him. So… thank you, so much."

Rem didn't reply straight away, merely gazing down at her blankly with one sleeve still on her grasp but neither seems to realize it. Surprisingly Heather didn't flinch away like she usually does before.

"_**One day, when you and I have time, would you kindly tell me about this brother of yours?" **_he asks, seemingly forgets for a moment that Heather couldn't read him.

"He asks if you would tell him about Dagur when you have time," Amanda helpfully translates to her. The smile on Heather's face widens before nodding her head.

A crash gains their attention. Heather finally releases his sleeves to look at where the source had come from. Not surprisingly the twin had managed to only break a plate.

"_**It seems my charm does not strict to your family, Fawn," **_Rem says, turning his eyes towards her while adjusting his green scarf.

"Eh, everyone just starts to get used to you. They're accepting you, starting to see you as a friend."

"_**Well, I better go break of Stick and Stone before bones are broken."**_

"That's kind of goes against the saying, doesn't it Rem?"

"_**I have absolutely no idea what you are talking, Fawn."**_

After adjusting his glasses, he nods to her and waves goodbye at Heather before walking towards the twins. He grabs them by the collar and easily pulls them apart and lifts them a few inches above the floor.

"It's weird," Amanda hears Heather comments. She looks over and sees that her green eyes are glue to the tall white frame of Rem. "Over a year ago, we see him nothing more than a walking mystery that chills bones. Now…" she trails off. Amanda looks back at the white clad man.

They watch as Rem sets the twins down and firmly slaps the back of their heads. They don't seem to look guilty at their squabble but they do avoid his gaze. He sharply points at the table silently order them to sit down and behave, to which they surprisingly obey.

Then Gustav and Madonna suddenly walk over and talk to Rem who stands there patiently, looking as if he is actually listening to them. Whether that he is actually listening to them they may never know. It's not long before the pair suddenly throws words and fists at each other, rolling on the ground while Rem looks exasperated, like actually looking exasperated, before walking over to them to break their fight.

Amanda releases a silent sigh. She understands what Heather is saying although she hasn't said it yet.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

_There're songs, sounds you bring to us  
You pin both the wings on us  
I hear, I see you sing for us  
You go tie a string around us_

"_Around Us – Go"_

"_**Is there a reason for the three of you to be here at the restaurant?"**_

"Are we just an inconvenience to you?"

"_**You tell me. The last time your daughter had that look on her face she decided to pull me from work to go dine on a piece of blanket."**_

"Well there's no picnic today."

"_**Which means there will be picnic on another day."**_

"Yes."

"_**Does Mustache know?"**_

"I assume you mean Gobber. Yeah Vincent talked to him on the phone earlier."

Rem sighs in dismay and hangs his head. Amanda smirks, Linda notices from the corner of her eyes.

"_**I cannot say no to this, can I?" **_Rem asks once he looks back up at trio before him.

"Nope, unless you want Mom to cry," Amanda replies. The said mother smiles sweetly. Rem sighs once more.

"_**Let me put away the broom and grab my coat before we go."**_

"Don't think you could get away through the backdoor, _again_, Rem," her daughter points out to his back. "Gobber's guarding the door there." Rem replies with a lazy wave of a hand, the unscarred one, before disappearing into the "Blacksmiths Only" door. He quickly reappears, now dons his white coat and a frown.

"_**Should I ask where are we going if it is not picnic?" **_he ask as he rewinds his green scarf around his neck in a more comfortable position. Linda shifts the plastic bags from one hand to the other, earning Rem's curious attention.

"Well," she starts with an awkward smile. "Do you remember the muffins you baked a while ago?" Rem nods his head, returning his attention back to her. "Well, we kind of getting our mouth salivated at the thought of your muffins."

"We're here to kidnap you to bake us those muffins," her husband chimes in with a little too eager smile on his face, she notices. She wouldn't blame him; he was the one who voiced it out and wanted the cookies the most out of the three of them.

"_**I assume those bags contain all the necessary items?" **_He gestures towards the plastic bags all three of them carried, to which they nod simultaneously. He sighs again. _**"Let us get going before I decide to change my mind and bail."**_

After many times seeing the sign out of experience, Amanda quickly moves all of the bags to one hand and latches onto one of Rem's sleeve. He rolls his eyes but didn't pull away, from experience.

"_**How is Pencil?" **_Rem asks her daughter when she looks up at him after he snaps his finger to gain her attention as the quartet exits the restaurant, ignoring the clatters caused by none other than the dynamic duo (that is beside Rebecca and Trevor). _**"You gave him some blown eardrums with your constant yelling, I assume."**_

"Can you blame a girl for being worried?" Amanda replies accompanied with a sigh, breaking off the eye contact for a moment. "He'd been gone for nearly _a year_. Who _wouldn't _be worried about that fact?"

"_**You had said the same thing a few months ago, the day where he finally called you after his disappearance."**_

"_Anyway_, we talked and had caught up what we had been doing since our last conversation. His mom cured an entire pride of lion, I don't remember what he'd said about his father and he misses home."

Linda lets the pair walks a bit ahead, completely the conversation one-sided. At least, verbally to her and her husband and anyone who hear them. The pair could have a conversation that leaves Rem with a bruised arm and her daughter flustered and annoyed.

She lets out a small gentle smile, seeing how Rem and Amanda interact with each other; such a lovely yet sad sight. At least on Rem's part. She remembers what Amanda told her and Vincent, that Rem is alone since birth… that Rem had lost everyone dear to him…

…that Rem is the cause of Phineas' death all those years ago…

She reaches out and grabs her husband's hand and squeezes for needed comfort, just at the thought of her dear older brother. She relaxes a bit when Vincent squeezes back.

Rem believes he is cursed, because of all of the above, a superstition that her daughter scoffed at for believing such thing.

Her mind wanders back to the night of her daughter's sixteenth birthday. It brings a warm smile on her face though didn't ease the pain from her heart.

Seeing Rem sleeping on the sofa with Amanda's spare blanket draped over him was such a beautiful yet sad sight. It makes her wonder since when has Rem been that comfortable, how long has he been sleeping in that cottage of his?

Rem has no concept of _home_; that is obvious enough. Amanda had explained everything with every detail.

_**SLAP!**_

Rem's usual slap breaks her away from her thought and focuses on the pair before her, seeing Rem retracts his hand and Amanda stiffens. She expects Amanda to retaliate with a hard punch as soon as she regains her composure but surprisingly she only glares up at the man while rubbing the spot. Something _had _changed.

"What was that for?!" Amanda demands. Whatever Rem had said – she's behind him so she couldn't see his eyes – had ticked Amanda off even more than before, seeing the veins start to pulse. Nothing to worry about, just the usual. She has to smile at the interaction though.

Rem suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and Linda nearly collides to his back. She and the rest look at him in confusion. He is looking to his left with his eyes a little too wide behind his narrow glasses.

"Rem? Is something wrong?" Amanda asks but she didn't get any respond. They turn their heads to where he is looking at, hoping they'll get an explanation. They raise their eyebrows at what they saw.

There is an adult cat, male probably, casually grooming itself. Its fur is butterscotch in color while its belly and its muzzle is vanilla in color. Underlining its eyes is also butterscotch fur. It suddenly looks up at them, revealing bright mint green in color.

Instead of dashing away like a… well, cat, it stands up and casually strolls away like nothing harmful will get him. The Hoffersons turn back towards Rem, who still has his eyes glued on the unusual cat.

"Rem, is something wrong?" Linda touches his arm. That seems to break him from the spell.

_**"When I was a kid of age I do not remember, I remembered watching a Japanese animation movie featuring a cat wearing a suit. But I could not remember the name of the movie."**_ He gently massages his forehead and has this look in his eyes, like he's remembering back old memories.

_**"The time I watched, it is a very small and very tight window where no one close to me died. And somehow..."**_ He looks back at where the cat had disappeared to.

_**"I was feeling very happy when I saw the suit wearing cat for the first time. So I loved the movie and have a… sort of an attachment to the fictional cat… for making me happy."**_

He sighs heavily, even his body slumped with it, and closes his eyes. He opens them back after a longest time.

_**"It was the first time I have ever felt happy. It was probably the only time where I could act as a child, not a traumatized person."**_ He then shakes his head firmly. _**"Anyway, that was in the past. I am not going to dwell on it too long. Come on; time is wasting."**_

That breaks the Hoffersons from their spell and continues on their journey to their destination. Rem didn't talk about the topic anymore, seemingly ignores it.

But Linda is not going to let this one go easily.

_'A cat wearing suit, huh?'_ Linda thinks to herself privately. Then her mind wanders back to the green eyed cat they saw earlier. She knows from Rem's reaction, the two add together. She frowns in deep thought. _'Could it be…?'_

.

"It's got to be here somewhere…"

Linda has literally turns her house upside down, tearing it apart and sent dust all over the place for opening untouched boxes and stuff, just to search for a certain CD case.

Of course, she did this the next day. Yesterday was a bit eventful but with a stomach full of satisfaction. Rem looked funny when he donned her pink apron without the white coat, but his green scarf clashed badly with the pink. Not a suitable combination, she had to admit.

Amanda insisted that she helped him bake although he told her that he does not require any help, which prompted her to pester him even more by telling him that if she learns all the ingredients and techniques she can replicates the delicious muffins.

Rem replies with a quick smack on the back of her head before sending her to the living room. Linda didn't point out the flour handprint on the back of her fuming daughter's head but Amanda quickly stormed back in to the kitchen when Vincent accidentally let out a small laugh.

The muffins were done _much_ later that usually, all because of the pair too busy fighting each other partially covered in flour. Linda doesn't mind; she had a good laugh out of it. Her husband minded a little after hearing his stomach rumbled a few times.

"Ah! Crap," Linda curses after tripping over an unseen object and nearly planting her face to the wooden board below her.

Lucky for her, both her husband and her daughter are not at home, so they won't whine how dirty the place is. Unluckily for her, both her husband and her daughter are not at home, so she has to do all the work herself.

She doesn't mind much anyway; they probably don't know what she is searching or talking about. A cat wearing a suit and talks in a British accent? What is she talking about?

"Aha! Here it is!" She finally found it, holding it in the air like a giant trophy. Somehow it ended up in the attic but it's in a good condition.

She had bought the movie just for fun, hoping that her daughter might like it. Of course, Amanda barely paid any attention to it back then, a little too preoccupied with her growing wood carving skills she learned from her beloved uncle. So Linda put it away.

"Rem's going to love this." She climbs down from the attic, brushing away the gathering dust from her figure. Then, the front door unlocked and entered a person.

"I'm ho- ARGHH!" Amanda suddenly shouts and a crash is heard. Linda cringes at the shatter sound downstairs and questions herself of how long had she been searching for the CD case. Quickly shaking her head from the question she immediately rushes downstairs to check on her daughter.

Luckily Amanda survived the fall, although sprawling all over the ground groaning in pain. She had tripped over a vase (where did she found that again?)

"Sorry for the mess, Sweetie." Linda helps her daughter back to her feet, who stumbles a bit before straightens up unassisted. Amanda rubs her back with a pained grimace, looking around the house.

"What's all this about?" Amanda gestures to... well, everything. Linda ignores the question, for now.

"Listen, Sweetie. Can you call Rem later?" Then Linda remembers the state of her house. "Scratch that; we'll call him over next time."

"What for?" her daughter asks.

"I've got a surprise for him." Linda smiles down at her daughter, gripping onto the CD case as if it would vanish from her hand in thin air.

'_Maybe on a __certain__ date…'_

"Now that you are here, help me clean the house." Amanda groans in dismay while her mother smirks amusedly.

She goes upstairs to start the housecleaning, her daughter close behind with her feet dragging. Before either of them could lift a thing, the front door opens.

"I'm home okay bye!"

"VINCENT, DON'T THINK YOU COULD RUN AWAY FROM ME!"

"What, Honey? I was merely going to the living room to start there. Heheh…"

"If the living room is not clean by the time I'm there then no dinner for you!"

"What!? But, Linda Honey! That's just cruel!"

"NO COMPLAINING!"

"Yes Miss!"


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

_There're songs, sounds you bring to us  
You pin both the wings on us  
I hear, I see you sing for us  
You go tie a string around us_

"_Around Us – Go"_

"Let me guess, everyone's at The Forge?"

The tall man in front of her didn't react, not even a twitch of an eye behind those narrow glasses of his. He doesn't need to; she already knows since it's obvious enough. They had done the same thing exactly a year ago.

"_**Let us go then," **_he says as he turns to walk away, the crowd parts like Red Sea. She follows closely behind, hand reaches out to grab his sleeve out of instinct. Neither of them said anything about it anymore.

"Is it as crazy as last year?" Amanda asks him, looking up with eager blue eyes.

"_**I do not know. I did not conduct such event, and they kicked me out earlier than they did last year," **_he replies, readjusting his narrow green glasses._** "Though from what I can tell, it will not be as eventful as last year. I think the both of us know who are attending, unlike last time where everyone is there."**_

"I don't mind that," she comments with a small smile. She wouldn't expect her birthday to be crazy as last year, with many people crowding the restaurant, and that night… The smile on her face turns brighter and warmer.

Many nights after that, she _demanded_ Rem to bring her to stargaze whenever the chances are possible. Unfortunately, she didn't get many chances, with homework piling up and the fact that the night sky isn't always clear. She cherishes the nights where she could stargaze.

She looks up at the sky, paying half-attention to Rem who did the same. They sky doesn't show any promise of clear sky tonight, but it's a little too early to tell. She looks at Rem when he snaps his finger to gain her attention.

"_**I do not think we could stargaze tonight,"**_ he tells her, eyes still glued to the dark clouds above them.

She couldn't help but slumps her head and sighs in disappointment. She was looking forward to it, especially tonight because today is special. He tugs on the hand that grips his sleeve and she looks up.

"_**There are still other nights we could stargaze,"**_ he says, trying to cheer her up. She smiles at his effort, already knowing that he is not good with cheering someone up (her being the person to endure it all before accepting that fact).

"Yeah," she replies with a small sigh. "I'm looking forward to those nights." She keeps a half-attention to his eye, waiting for him to say another word. She has got used to this, so much that if she _didn't_ pay half-attention to him she feels out of place.

He has become a part of her routine, basically.

"_**Has your birthday really been that eventful as last year, Fawn?" **_Rem suddenly asks. _**"I feel like I have not asked you that question already."**_

"No," she shakes her head. "Last year is probably the biggest one; at least, from what I have known. I don't know about the day when I was too young to remember."

"_**I think your parents hit you on the head to make you forget. Those days were probably the worst they had come up when it comes to you."**_

She releases his sleeve in order to jab him in the elbow (she is still trying to hit higher but his tall stature won't allow her. Maybe in a few years she'll get there). Rem only sways and didn't rub the spot and she grabs back his sleeve while giving him a glare.

Some things just do not change.

"_**Though interestingly enough, Stick is not around for the preparation earlier, nor did I saw her making her hasty exit from school with your friends just now. Is there a reason to be?" **_Rem inquires, tilting his head toward her. She couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"She's busy on a manhunt right now."

The quick raise of an eyebrow from Rem didn't escape her notice.

"I think I had already explained this to you but let me say it again. She is completely _obsessed_ with a guy named Eric Erecton, but everyone calls him Eret. Right now, I think she is cornering him somewhere in school."

"_**His name is erect erection?" **_

She couldn't help but splutters out her mirth, muffling it with her free hand. She tugs on his sleeves instead of hitting him on his shoulder. She doesn't know whether he is kidding or not since he is still looking surprised (well, as surprised as he can be).

"Something like that." She cuts the conversation short when they finally arrive at The Forge. Unlike before, everyone's not hiding from plain sight. They wave at her as soon as they saw her through the windows.

"_Happy Birthday!_" everyone shouts as soon as they enter the restaurant. She feels a tug on the hand that grips Rem's sleeve. She looks up at him.

"_**Go have fun,"**_ he says. _**"I am going to be busy for the moment."**_

"But…" she starts but Rem cuts her off.

"_**Go on now," **_he repeats. _**"You will have time for me later."**_ She hesitates but finally releases his sleeve before joining her friends who gives her hugs and kisses. She notices her parents are not here, probably decided to celebrate her birthday at home. Her phone rings and she quickly fishes it out.

'_Happy Birthday Astrid! I hope I'm on time.  
-H_

She smiles at the text before sighing longingly.

'_Thanks Hiccup. I missed you.'_

.

The party ended a little earlier than last year, which is to be expected since it is less exciting than last time with lesser crowd. The crowd dispersed earlier, leaving only Amanda and the employees and a few other customers in the restaurant. Nonetheless, Amanda is quite thrilled by the celebration and a bit tired from it too.

Her phone rings when she orders another drink. She fishes it out from her pocket, probably someone who greets her happy birthday or something. Instead, she frowns at the screen. At the same time, she hears familiar steps approaching her.

"Mom wants me to bring you to home," she says to the person as she puts away the device. Rem is just as surprise as her (well he only glances at her but she could take that as a surprise expression; she still trying to figure him out).

"_**Is there a reason?" **_he asks, one hand still holding the broom whilst the other at his hip.

"Mom didn't say. I highly doubt she and/or Dad want muffins or else they _demand_ you to come later."

Rem looks up at the ceiling. If he has a voice he would've hummed right now, she thinks.

"_**Does she says when?" **_he asks. She fishes out the phone again and checks quickly to make sure.

"She doesn't say. Mom probably means until the party ends, which might be tonight if I can guess correctly."

"_**You are very well known for not guessing correctly so I am not putting my trust on you on this one."**_

"Thanks for the vote of confidence there, Rem. I hate you too."

"_**The celebration finished a little earlier than I expected," **_he casually starts, putting the broom aside and sits down on the chair opposite to her. He loosens up the green scarf and sinks into the chair with a sigh of relief, finally got a chance to rest.

"It is to be expected since it is not as it is like last year, though I think everyone else is busy with something else too so they had to bail early. You were gone the entire time earlier, where were you?"

"_**Similar like last year, I am trying to keep up with the party by making the place as hygienic as possible, cleaning up all the rubbishes and leftover food." **_He takes off his narrow glasses and lets them clatter on the table without much thought. _**"It will put less stress on Mustache and the two brats."**_

Amanda hums in respond before looking out the window, noting how the day is getting darker by the minute. She is still a bit disappointed that she couldn't get to stargaze tonight. She hears Rem tapping the table to gain her attention.

"_**Should we go now before it rains?" **_he asks as soon as she looks up at him.

"It's going to rain?" she asks in surprise with raised eyebrows. He shrugs his shoulders.

"_**I do not know, but just in case."**_

She looks back outside, looking up at the darkening sky. She hums a bit before turning back to Rem.

"Let's go."

.

"Rem if you don't put me down this instance, I will claw your face and _replace_ the one before!"

The married couple heard their daughter's shout, causing them to snort simultaneously. It looks like the pair had arrived.

They heard two knocks on the door before immediately swings open, follow by the frantic shouts from Amanda. They are greeted by Rem, holding Amanda on his left shoulder by her waist. Her legs are swinging around but Rem didn't bother.

_**"I have heard that you required my presence in this household. How can my mere existence help you that I am sure not to bake some muffins?"**_ Rem says, ignoring Amanda entirely. Linda smirks and without uttering a word she holds up the CD case she had been looking for yesterday.

Rem suddenly becomes very still. His arm around Amanda loosens and drops her to the floor. His facial expression bare changed but they saw how his eyes widen a millimeter.

Rem is literally speechless, unable to form any words and didn't respond to anything. Even when Amanda finally recovered and socks him in the shoulder (_elbow)_ he didn't react.

_**"Is that…?"**_ Linda's smirk reduces to a soft smile and nods her head.

"It's such a coincidence that we had bought the same CD but it's English dubbed. I hope you don't mind about that." Rem slowly shakes his head, not mind at all.

"When did you buy that?" Amanda asks curiously, gazing that the front cover of the CD case, especially at the cat character that seems to wear a greyish suit, complete with a top hat too.

"I bought it _years _ago when you were just a wee little girl, but you were a little too busy with a knife and a block of wood to even pay a single second to the movie," Linda points out. "Luckily, it has been kept safe and is still in good condition, though I've yet to play it to know whether it's still good or not."

_**"May I…?"**_

"Let us watch it with you too; it's been a while, and I'm sure Astrid is curious too." The daughter nods her head.

.

Amanda and her parents are sitting on the couch together, with Rem sitting on the carpet in front of them, insisting on sitting there despite the chair beside him. Amanda notes that Rem looks a little… _"un-Rem like" _as he sits on the carpet floor. Usually his back his straight and looking composed, even if he is sitting on the floor.

Yet right now, tonight, his back is bent and his arms around his knees. If she's not mistaken, he even has a miniscule look of eagerness in his eyes that are glued to the TV screen. She averts her attention to the screen when the CD finally plays.

The first screen shows the company's name and logo: "Ghibli Studio" it says, both in English and Japanese before a bunch of Japanese texts coming up and she couldn't understand.

A lovely small green house appears next, zooming in before transition inside to show the backside of the same cat character wearing a suit.

"_If you found yourself a troubled by something mysterious, or a problem that's hard to solve, there's a place you can go where you always find help. You just need to look for it."_

Amanda glances at Rem.

His mismatched eyes softened significantly, and he looks incredibly relax. And Amanda gets this feeling that he is happy on the inside.

.

When the credit rolls, Amanda comes up with a plan.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

_Nú er ég loks kominn heim_

"_Heima – Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust"_

He was washing the dishes in the far back of the kitchen when he hears Gregory screams a name he couldn't clearly tell. He didn't mind it; it's not unusual for the bald man to scream (Gustav and Madonna being the unfortunate constant victims of his loud voice) and it's not unusual for Gregory to greet someone with a scream (_him_, on the occasional times).

What _is_ unusual is hearing Gregory crying, quite loudly. _That_ effectively pauses him from cleaning the plate in his hand (some dude or a kid decided it was a good idea to swallow the food whole and barf it back onto the plate and complained loudly but he didn't listen). He is a little bit concerned (he never worry, he _doesn't_ do worry) and makes his way to the dining area, drying his hands on the way.

As soon as he exits the kitchen, someone or a group of people just exited the restaurant. They were probably the ones that made Gregory cries because the bald man is waving his mug-hand frantically at them while dabbing a napkin on one corner of his leaking eyes. Gregory then turns towards him with a giant smile on his face.

"Ye gonna work yeself extra hard for later, New Recruit, because _we're celebrating_!" he shouts joyously before rushing into the kitchen. He raises an eyebrow, a bit confused at the bald man's sudden act. He looks around, looking for a specific waitress. When he found her, he whistles to gain her attention and she is instantly at his side.

"What's up, Big Guy? Need anything from me?" Cathy asks as she hands him a small notepad and a pencil just for him. She had learned one way for a two-way communication and is very happy to have a conversation with him.

"_**What was all that about?"**_ he writes down what he said before handing the notepad back to her. Cathy snickers after reading it.

"Someone… _special_ had come back after a long time away," she says, handing the notepad to him. "Gobber wants a celebration for their return."

'_So there are multiple people; a family, perhaps.'_

"_**Should I know who they are?"**_ he shows her what he wrote down.

"You'll find out soon enough," she replies with another smile. He's okay with that for the moment; he _will _meet them later since they will be celebrating here at The Forge. He hands back the notepad along with the pencil to her. "Catch you later!" With that, she runs off to another table for order taking.

He is curious who these people are, though he has his suspicion. He puts the matter aside for the moment. For now, he has extra works to do and Gregory probably wouldn't give him any mercy. He hadn't seen the bald man this excited before.

"REM! I need ye here!"

'_Oh goodie, right on time too.'_

.

"Hey, Big Guy?"

He pauses in cleaning the dishes to look down at the blonde waitress, who smiles up at him in a way that speaks mischievous but not at the same time (Cathy is probably the only girl who can look mischievous while _not_ being mischievous, because you can't tell she's being mischievous or not). He raises an inquisitive eyebrow at her.

"Did you participate in the bet?" she asks him.

"_**What bet?" **_he asks while raising his other eyebrow.

"I take that raised eyebrows that you didn't participate and weren't aware of it," she says.

He realizes that he's becoming predictable. Somehow he doesn't mind and dreading it at the same time. This means that people gets to know him better but also he can't pull stunts that no one expect because they know him better than before.

Somehow, he doesn't mind that whole concept, to which he is dreading.

This whole dreading and not minding really hurts his head. He'll deal with that later.

"I'm pretty sure you know just _who_ has return," Cathy starts, breaking him away from his thoughts just in time and hands him a notepad and pencil. He quickly dries his hands with the towel nearby before grabbing the writing utensils.

"_**I have suspicion," **_he writes down.

"Nevertheless, Gobber had just set up a bet. Who would fall first: _him_ or _her_? Do you want to join in?"

He gives a little bit of thinking at the request. It sounds fun and, at the same time, a way to annoy Amanda, who when she finds out will freak out and causes a havoc. That sounds quite pleasing. Before he participates he needs to ask something first.

"_**Who is joining in on this bet?"**_ he writes down and shows it to her. She snickers after she read.

"Oh, _everyone_ you and I both know. Even _their_ parents are betting in. And Bob the Sled? He's in it too!" He has no idea who Bob the Sled is but he pretends he does for the sake of the conversation. "I'm betting on the lad? You?"

"_**I had never really understood the concept behind betting." **_He shows that sentence to her first before adding another. _**"So for the sake for my lack of understanding and pure stupidity, I am not participating." **_Cathy sags and pouts but nods anyway.

"You would vote for the lass if you would've joined anyway," she mutters.

"_**You know me so well," **_he shows her that sentence. That brightens up her mood a little bit as she smiles up at him.

Again, the whole dreading and not minding really hurts his head. He needs to deal with that much sooner than later.

"Now then, I'm pretty sure you want to go out and annoy the living hell out of Toothpick."

"_**You know me very well."**_

"Don't worry; let me handle that one for you." Her smile turns a bit more mischievous before turning her head to a random direction. "Hey Gobber! Rem says he wants a little break!"

"What!? Why is that!?"

"He wants to annoy Astrid!"

"Oh, alright. She'll get the shock of her life later. Off ye go now, New Recruit! But I might need to call you back sooner than later!"

Cathy smiles up at him and he nods a thank you to her as he hands back the notepad and pencil to her. He grabs his coat and shrugs it on. Before he exits the kitchen, he gives Cathy a light pat on the shoulder, hoping she would understand the gesture.

"I'm assuming you're apologizing for not participating in the bet?" He nods. Her smile turns soft. "No need to apologize, Big Guy. You're just… different but a good kind of different. I used to be scared of you but… you're a kind man after all."

Something in his chest is hurting and he needs to get out of here really quickly. He awkwardly pats her shoulder once more and walks out from the kitchen and out the restaurant. He squints when the sun hits his eyes, adjusting his glasses a bit before taking a deep breath.

'_Damn it,' _he curses in his mind. He realizes that he has suddenly become… attach to someone and values their views on him. He's not prepared to become attach to people outside of the Hoffersons, or even the Hoffersons themselves even. The hurt in his chest amplifies a little bit when he's thinking about the Hoffersons. He massages his chest to ease the pain a little bit.

The Hoffersons are… they are worming their way into his… whatever that thing is; he forgot when it's called. He's becoming more attached to them, especially, _especially_ on the night of Amanda's seventeenth birthday, where he watched that animated movie.

He's… becoming…

The dreading and not minding thing returns with vengeance, and accompanying it is the hurting in his chest. He _really_ should deal with that. He shakes his head to clear his thought and heads off to a certain direction.

He is thankful Gregory is giving him a little break, courtesy of Cathy for being the voice for him. While he isn't _really_ going to annoy Amanda (he's going to do it anyway), he thinks by his suspicion that Amanda will get the shock of her life _much_ earlier.

It's a pretty lame and quirky excuse to get away from work but hey, an excuse is an excuse. And the people he had met after meeting Amanda are all quirky, and Gregory's quirky; perfect for quirky excuse. He's perfectly blend in with the group.

Although it's as… quirky (heh) as it's sound, he finds it quite… endearing.

It's not long until he finally arrives at the school. It's pretty quiet outside, no surprise since all of the students are in class at the moment. It's only around fifteen minutes before lunch and students pouring out from class and into the cafeteria.

He wonders if he should stand behind the cafeteria door just to get a reaction from some of the students, although he found out a few weeks ago, just three days after Amanda's birthday, that some of the students are warming up to him. He's not sure what to think of that either.

Nah, he's not going to scare some random kids; his main target is _Amanda Hofferson_, nicknamed "Astrid", the girl he (definitely _not_ affectionately) called "Fawn". Putting that goal at the very front of his mind he strides into the double doors and head for the-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Why does it _always_ to be _that _kid greeting him whenever he's at the school? He's still wondering if that kid's scream is the school bell because students pour out from their classes and fill the hallway.

He guesses that'll be a little bit easier for him to find Amanda. Is it recess now? Or is it lunchtime? He forgot to look at the clock. It's probably lunchtime because Gregory had kept him busy for quite a while.

"Hey look! It's Ísjaki!" he hears a familiar voice. The twins skid to a stop right in front of him, arms around each other. Both flash him a grin before they crash onto the ground and roll over each other.

"_**Is there a time when Stick and Stone not fighting with each other?"**_

"Please, only when Ragnarok comes when they finally stop fighting, only because they are _rooting_ for the world to end," Amanda answers as she and her gaggle of friends approaching. "Hey Rem. What are you doing here?"

"_**Is it quite wrong for me to drop by to visit you and your friends?"**_

"Your mere presence around where you suppose _not_ to be is very suspicious, especially around school area. There's a reason why you're here."

"_**One might say," **_he replies cryptically. Amanda narrows her eyes at him before Scott interrupts them with his rumbling belly.

"Come on guys, I'm _hungry_ here. I hadn't had breakfast this morning," the brunette whines. The girls of the group – even Rebecca who is still rolling on the floor – roll their eyes.

"Come on, let's go before Snotlout's stomach explodes," Heather says before giving Rem a quick smile. "Hey, Big Man. How are you doing?" He flashes her thumb up (making sure to use the lesser scarred hand doing so) saying that he is okay.

"Guys, _come on_."

"Alright, alright, let's go. Break the two, would you Rem?" He flashes Heather another thumb up and walks over to the (still) rolling duo.

"Butt-head!"

"Bride of Grendel!"

The twins throw fists and words at each other. He's pretty sure they're immune to each other from so much exposure. Nonetheless, he needs to break them up. He easily grabs onto the back of their collars and holds them up, dangling just a few inches from the floor. He carries them back to the group.

"Well, now that you two finally have a momentary truce, let's go."

The students around them give the group a wide berth as they make their way to the cafeteria, either it's because of Amanda or him; he cannot tell because he knows the command Amanda has over the students around the school.

He wonders how many hearts she had broken along the way. The name list is still in his pocket, still quite long despite of the many crosses, of the many broken-hearted or broken spirits. He guesses he won't need it anymore after today. He'll take pleasure in burning it under a pile of wood or ignite it with propane tank.

The moment they enter the cafeteria a table is instantly cleared. He is thoroughly impressed. Maybe it's _Amanda_ they are clearing away from. He should probably clap her back and pinch her cheek for that. Maybe he should do it now with students around them, a good opportunity to annoy her and simultaneously embarrass her.

"Hey, uh… Ísjaki, you know you could put us down, right?"

'_Oh yeah, I'm still carrying Stick and Stone.'_ Well, they're lucky for being transported by him, even though their mean of transport has carried them by the collar of their shirts. Now that everyone is at the table, he sets the twins down on the bench and gives them a stern pat on the head, hoping they would have enough brain cells to know the meaning behind it.

"Fine, we'll behave, for now," Rebecca grumbles as she and Trevor cross their arms and sulk in their seats. Well, they're smarter than he gives them credit.

"Are you hungry, Mr. Rem? I've brought extras," Fredrick offers. He refuses with a raise of a hand with palm out. "Well, more for me I guess." Scott quickly snatches a container without Fredrick's consent, which sparks a fight between the two.

While everyone either busy eating or fighting each other he needs to keep his senses on alert. Expects the lad to arrive sooner and is a little disappointed. Well, it's not the first time his suspicion is wrong but how he wishes he was right. But hey, he still has hope.

He also likes his seating arrangement; to his left is none other than Amanda and beyond that is the cafeteria door across the room (perfect position for a surprise appearance), and Heather on his right.

"You still hadn't told me why you're here," Amanda comments, glancing at him with the corner of her eyes. She seems indifferent; maybe she actually doesn't know who has return.

He catches the glances the rest of the group at the table giving towards Amanda before engrossing into their own works. It seems _everyone_ knows about the lad's arrival _except_ for Amanda. He feels like he's in a rom-com or something, or a fiction of a fiction that is horrendously bad. He wonders if the said original fiction has dragons in it.

The double door of the cafeteria swings open. He raises an eyebrow at the emerging person, who scans the cafeteria before the eyes land on him. Well, not _him_ but the girl beside him.

It looks like the lad is here.

"Hey, Astrid!"

'_Wow, now that is a nasally voice. I feel like I want to punch him.'_

Amanda stiffens in her seat as her eyes go wide. She turns her head so fast her braid slaps his face. Oh, he will get her for that but not now.

Now, he wishes for popcorn and soda to enjoy the show.

"Hiccup!? Hi… H… _HICCUP_!?"

* * *

**It looks like the boy finally make his physical appearance**


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

_I'm singing a sad tune  
Is this song to you?  
Is this song to you?_

"_Sinking Friendships – Go"_

"Hiccup!? Hi... H... _HICCUP_!?" Amanda shouts at the top of her lungs.

The boy before her, with those define jawline, lush red hair, thin pink lips, adorable freckles and those gorgeous, _gorgeous_ emerald green eyes, smiles brightly at her, causing her heart to beat a billion miles a second.

"Hey Astrid!"

Since when has his nasal annoying voice ceased her frantic heart to stop functioning!? Since when has those annoying buck rabbit teeth of his caused her face to redden furiously!?

Why this gorgeous boy is caused her to hyperventilate!?

He starts to approach her table, and somehow she feels repulsive, and intimidated. She shrinks in her seat, leaning back against the person sitting beside her; whoever he is she has already forgotten.

The gorgeous devil before her seems to notice the behavior. That causes the smile to disappear from his face, replacing with a concerned one. She already missed the smile. His stride quickens and before she knows he's already hovering over her.

"Are you alright, Astrid? You seem a little red," he asks, his thick brows furrow into a concern frown. Amanda backs herself up to the person behind her, who sat very rigid and seems to enjoy her misery because he is leaning her closer to the auburn devil before her.

"Hi...H...H-H-Hi..." Then he places his forehead against hers, and that didn't help her internal battle. She's having a hard time to not stare much at his eyes, or his nose, or his cheekbone, or his other cheekbone, or his upper lips, or his lower lips...

"You don't seem to have a fever so you're fine." He pulls back and stares confusedly into her eyes. "Is... something else wrong?"

"Since when have you grown some balls!?"

The look hurt on his face is comical and very satisfying, but she is too busy fighting the blush on her face (and failing).

She hears a snicker and realization dawns on her that she is being watched. Henry also seems to realize it and quickly straightens up. She leans back forward to a sit-up position, sparing the person beside her the misery; she still doesn't know who he is yet, because _Henry_ is _freaking distracting_.

She looks over her table, finally noticing the smirks and the mischievous eyes her friends are giving her; they all _knew_ Henry is coming back this entire time. Oh, she will have her revenge on them.

She also notices that Rem had left without her knowing. Not only that, she is currently sitting at where he had seated in order to give Henry a space to sit. For someone who is quite big, Rem can be very silent at times.

"Where had Rem gone to?" she asks the group, trying to avert her eyes away from the auburn boy beside her.

"Oh he had _just_ left," Heather answers as she puts away her mobile phone, hiding it from plain view; the smirk is still firmly in place. "Camicazi just called and Gobber needs him right now. He seems a little unhappy to leave quickly, but we all know why."

"Rem? As in the mysterious man Rem? He was here?" Henry asks in surprise. "I didn't notice."

The smirks on all of their faces increase by ten folds, if ever possible.

"That's fine. You weren't the only one distracted, or distracting."

She could feel her cheeks burn, but she also notices Hiccup also slowly turning red. What is happening to her? What is happening to _them_? She does not like this; she _really _does not like this.

The bell rings, her life saviour.

"Well uh… I uh… _we_ have to go to class," Amanda says slowly (definitely _not_ stuttering because she _does not _stutter) as she quickly gathers all of her belongings while everyone else is taking a leisurely time. Before she could sprint away from the table, a gentle hand wraps around her wrist, effectively freezing her in place.

"I'll be waiting for you." His voice is _oh so _very soft to her ears. "Gobber's setting up a party to celebrate our return home. I… want us to go there… t-together."

She couldn't speak; her throat is being uncooperative. And his words… Oh how they affect her trembling heart. She can only nod her head. He smiles softly at her before finally releasing her wrist.

"I'll catch you later," he murmurs as he takes a step back, the smile still firmly in place. She slowly walks away from him before going into a rush jog, leaving all of her friends behind. Once she knows there is a big enough gap between them she releases her breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"Oh God. Oh holy _f-_"

"OW! You stepped on my foot!"

"_-k_, what was all that about?"

She was taken by surprise, a big, gigantic, humongous, _colossal_ surprise, in the form of a boy who years ago was lanky freckled geek and nerd at the same time, now is someone who is _completely_ different, in a good that is a bad way.

Maybe _that's_ why Rem was here; to see her like this. He _knew_ he was coming. Oh she will get back to him one day.

She needs time. She needs time to recompose herself before she faces… _him_ again. Her face heats up at the thought of him. She shakes her head to clear away the image.

She _really _needs time to recompose herself.

Maybe, just maybe, while he different in terms on the physical appearance, he could maybe the same person on the inside.

.

Class is a little difficult. Her mind keeps returning back to the redhead, a familiar person but not with an unfamiliar face, a face she wouldn't mind staring at all day.

Not only that, Heather – who is in the same class with her – sits right next to her, and the occasional glances and the permanent smirk are _not_ helping at all. Not only that, she's purposely _hiccups_.

"Need a little help, Miss Heather?" the teacher asks with a raised eyebrow; a kind woman but scary occasionally with a pretty face.

"Oh don't worry about me, Miss Fifah," Heather replies as the smirk somehow gotten wider. " After all, I'm not the only one who got a mild case of _hiccups_."

She wants to punch her. She wants to punch her _so bad_. Luckily for Heather, the school bell rings just in time as she balls her fist.

"I'll punch that smirk off from your face _next time_," she warns the brunette. Heather merely smiles sweetly and giggles.

"Say hi to him for me."

"I've no idea what you mean."

"Oh you know what I mean, Astrid." She groans as she hastily exits the classroom just to get away from her, didn't bother to zip up her bags. Her friends are going to be _insufferable_ starting today. And Rem…

'_Oh no.' _She's going to _die_ by Rem every single day starting from now on. That man is going to be her greatest death. She plans on how to deal with Rem as she exits the school but quickly stops in her track and mind.

When she exits the school doors, she half-expects a tall man clad in white. What greeted her are a pair of cresting green eyes and a warming smile.

"Hey, Astrid."

'_Oh no.' _She's not prepare for gorgeous green eyes and lovely warming smile. She takes on Rem than _this_ any day (well not _any day_ because she doesn't mind those green eyes and that smile. It's just she's not fully prepare for them so she'll take on Rem just for today).

"Hey, Hiccup." She hopes her voice didn't crack because _dear God_ couldn't those eyes get any warmer? "Did you wait for me?"

"Yeah," he replies with his voice oh so soft and oh so gentle it makes her inside feels like a mush. "I've been missing you."

Her heart trembles at that sentence.

"I want to walk with you to the Forge, to make up all the loss time as much as possible."

There's barely any stutter or nervousness in his tone. There is so much confidence in him. Is this really the same dorky Hiccup? Her best friend?

"Astrid?" She snaps from her thought and focuses back on the redhead before her. The smile on his face is slowly disappearing.

"Yeah, yeah! Sure!" she quickly replies before the smile completely disappears. The smile returns with full force and she has to fight down the blush that is threatening to rise.

"Alright, let's go then." The pair starts to walk to the Forge. They walk in silence, and Amanda is a little lost in her thought. She looks at the road ahead as her feet instinctively bring her to The Forge.

Out of instinct, she reaches out to grab onto his sleeve.

"OW! What was that for?"

She immediately jumps back in startle, didn't expect to get a _verbal_ respond. Looking at her partner she realizes that he is _not_ Rem. She had pinched his elbow on accident.

"Sorry, Hiccup," she apologizes, rubbing her elbow while Henry did the same onto the pinched spot. She takes a few deep breaths before recomposing herself.

She… She had been so used to walk with Rem that her instinct kicked in, even if her walking partner is _not_ him.

She realizes she had developed an instinctual habit with Rem.

She takes a few more deep breaths, retelling herself that her current partner beside her is _not_ Rem, though it is still a little hard to wrap her mind around the fact that _Henry_ is now right next to her.

And Henry is completely _different_, at least physically. She glances at him, taking note of his features. She realizes that he has _finally_ gotten taller than her.

"You know Hiccup, you seem… different."

He grins at her slyly. Her eye twitches slightly; he is aware of his changes and his new look, how growth spurt had affected him. He is _very _aware of them.

"What do you think?" He runs the back of his hand along his jaw, one eyebrow raises and the sly smile is still on his lips. She narrows her eyes at him, partly disgusted (but not that much because _hot damn_ she wouldn't mind getting a taste of _that_).

"While you are devilishly handsome, incredibly gorgeous and undeniably attractive-"

"Thanks for fuelling my ego, Astrid."

"You are still _Hiccup_." She punches his shoulder _very hard_. He falls onto the ground with a pained groan. Amanda snorts as she looks down at her best friend back then and still best friend today (and maybe probably not-definitely-but-not something more), feeling nostalgic at the positions. "Still weak, nasally, annoying, stupid and a little brat fish-bone of a Hiccup."

"Thanks for stomping on my ego, _Ass_-trid."

Her lips twitch into a smile. He really is still Hiccup, still the same Hiccup. She hopes he didn't give too much thought about her compliments although she wouldn't mind the idea of…

.

"Astrid!" The blonde girl hears a familiar voice calling her as soon as she enters The Forge. She looks over and sees an elderly woman quickly approaching her. Her smile widens, recognizing her immediately.

"Valka!" The pair shares a warm hug. The older woman pulls back and holds her at arm's length, grinning from ear to ear.

"My, my! Look at you, all grown up. You look _beautiful_!" Amanda blushes over the compliment.

She gets that a lot, but it's different when it comes to Henry's mother. Veronika Haddock, Valka to her friends, is an extraordinary woman. She's more than just a vet, she is an _animal whisperer_. Animals _love_ her, which is an extraordinary feat.

"Where's Stoick?"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

"YE GOT ME RIGHT ON THAT ONE YOU HAIRY BURNING YAK!"

"OH, DON'T USE THAT ON ME, GOBBER! YE KNOW ONLY ME WIFE USE THAT ON ME!"

"YES BUT ONLY IN BED!"

"Well, that answers the question," she murmurs to herself, looking at the kitchen's door where the source came from. The door suddenly swings open and out comes Rem, adjusting his scarf in the process. She walks around Veronika and over to him and jabs him in the elbow a little harder than usual.

"_**Well hello to you too, Fawn. It is quite nice to see you," **_he says, rubbing his offended elbow. _**"Now why would you give a punch as a greeting, may I ask? Though that is a stupid question as you had done that almost all of the time."**_

"Why didn't you say anything about this?" she demands, stepping back and glaring up at him at a less strained neck.

"_**Yes, punch me instead and not everyone else as they all knew about this current situation a lot more and a lot longer than I do. Yes, let me be their representation."**_

"Don't go sarcastic on me, Rem."

"_**I am surprised you had noticed the sarcasm."**_

"So you _are_ being sarcastic!" She points at him with a victorious smirk. Rem raises in hands in mock surrender.

"_**Yes, you had caught me. On the end of that note, would you kindly introduce me to them?" **_He nods to someone behind her.

"_You_?"

She hears Veronika's surprised voice behind her. Looking back, she points at Rem with a baffled finger. Amanda and Henry stare at her with shocked expression while Rem just raises his eyebrows.

"Mom, you know him?" Henry asks with stunned voice while Amanda gives Rem a similar look. The white clad man just lightly shrugs his shoulders.

"He was one of the volunteers years ago," Veronika says, still staring at the silent man before her. Amanda turns and gazes at her.

"Then that means you were there when the lion attacked," Amanda points out, to which Veronika nods her head slowly. A smile slowly forms on her lips before she shakes her head.

"It's such a coincidence that we've meet again, boy. And with Astrid out of all people."

_**"You have to admit, she grows on you,"**_ he says, although he knows only Amanda could understand, who smiles at him sweetly at his words.

"Aww, thank you Rem. You're so kind."

_**"She grows and attached like an annoying barnacle."**_

"I hate you too Rem."

She hears a cough behind her. Henry is standing there patiently. She steps aside and let him and Rem faces each other. Henry runs his eyes all over Rem while Rem just stands there. She could see Henry holding back a flinch when his eyes lands on Rem's face.

"So you're the mysterious Rem, huh?"

"_**I do not know what toxic lies Fawn had told you but that would be me, I have to guess." **_She glares at him over Henry's shoulder.

"Nice to finally meet you. My name's Henry, but you can call me Hiccup."

"_**Your nasal voice is a little irritating but irritating enough for me to have the urge to punch you."**_

"Rem, behave yourself."

"_**Why are you even head over heels over this boy, Fawn?"**_

"I am _not_!"


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

_Við vorum sammála um það  
Sammála um flesta hluti  
Við munum gera betur næst_

"_Ágætis Byrjun __– __Ágætis Byrjun__"_

Amanda is blind. Amanda is _oh so very_ blind, in more ways than one.

For one, she is _absolutely_ in to be head over heels over the auburn boy Henry, and the boy to her. The "subtle" glances they gave each other when either is not looking are so _painfully_ aware by _everyone else_. They made _him_ tired and exasperated, and he _rarely_ got exasperated.

Well, recently he has gotten more and more exasperated, especially the antics caused by Gustav and Madonna (the _other_ two who are so very oblivious to each other), showing that he is becoming more and more open and more and more human and more and more normal but that's beside the point.

What Amanda is _really _blind of is the jealousy Henry is emitting. And oh how _jealous_ Henry is.

And he hates to admit at how _humorous_ it is.

Well, he's been expecting this and also the other thing.

He could already see from a mile away at Amanda's view on Henry, though she doesn't seem to register it yet until Henry's buck tooth came to her field of view.

He could see the stink eye Henry gives him every time Amanda is not looking. When she's not around, Henry gives him a full-fledged undisguised glare that could burn the forest down.

Unluckily for the redhead, he had been under the gaze of the Hoffersons, and their glare – especially the females – can burn down the _sun_, and that it itself is _impossible_.

'_Wait, hold on; are they currently in a relationship?'_

He has to pause in his sweeping as that thought dawns on him. Well it's only been three days since the Haddocks return home, surely it is a little too soon for a relationship.

He silently snorts. Given from _all _the _subtle_ glances and stolen moments and everything in between that involve icky mush, he wouldn't be surprised if the pair is already knocking headboards and making so much noise that he would surely not be able to sleep even if he is on the other side of the town.

Not only that, knowing Amanda, she would _purposely_ get some actions somewhere close to him and makes so much noise just to _pester_ him, like next door or something. She would _definitely _do that.

Speaking of the blooming lovebirds, Amanda and Henry are supposed to be arriving here ten minutes ago. Are they already making out in an ally nearby? That's pretty far forward than he expected.

He scans the restaurant and sees Heather and her friends, with Cathy joining the table. He walks over to them, Heather spots him first.

"Hey, Big Guy. What's up?" she greets him as Cathy takes out the usual notepad and pencil. He takes them gratefully.

"_**Where are the lovebirds?" **_He shows what he wrote to the group.

"Oh they're on their way here, just taking their sweet time," Trevor answers as he leans back to his chair. "Though "sweet" wouldn't be the right word for it."

"You know your name came up pretty frequently earlier from them," Fredrick comments. "They… don't sound too happy though, I have to admit."

If he has a voice, he would've hummed in thoughtful. Something must've happened, either earlier or since Henry arrived. Or…

He looks up and his eyebrows shoot up.

Right through the window are none other than Amanda and Henry themselves, the topic of discussion. They seem to be arguing heatedly, scowling at each other, arms flailing around and he could hear their voices from inside.

Suddenly, Henry makes a swiping motion with his hand and that had effectively made Amanda shuts up and she had a hurtful look. Henry storms past her and did not look back. Amanda bites her lips as her eyes become glassy and runs on the opposite direction where Henry had stormed away.

He is a little curious where she is heading right now since her home and Henry's are in the same direction. She's probably taking a longer route.

"What… just happened?"

He sighs. He takes his glasses off and rubs his eyes with his fingers. He _knows_ what happened; he had just talked about it.

That boy is _troublesome_, at least in the current moment. He's a temporary thorn at his side when compared to Amanda, who is a _pain in his ass_.

He needs to solve this one out since he is at their center of reason. He needs to because those two are very close to each other, best friends borderline couple. Not only that, he doesn't want to be the reason of a lost friendship or broken hearts.

That job is on Amanda's calloused hands.

He puts his glasses back on and picks up the pencil once more.

"_**Tell Mustache I am going off for the day," **_he writes it down on the notepad and gives it and the pencil back to Cathy.

"Where're you going?" she asks after she reads it. He didn't answer because he couldn't since his way of communication with her is now no longer with him. He needs to move quickly.

_'The things I'd do for that girl…'_ He cracks his knuckles first before getting down to business.

.

_**KNOCK! KNOCK!**_

"Coming!"

Veronika quickly rushes to the front door and opens it. She can't help but leans back in surprise.

"Rem?" Valka is surprised seeing the tall man at her doorstep. He gives her a blank stare, like he always did. She had never seen any emotions in his dual gazed eyes.

Except… with Amanda.

"Who is it, honey!?" Gerard yells behind her from the kitchen.

"It's just Rem!" Valka shouts back as she steps aside to let the white clad man in. "Is there a reason for you to be here, Rem?"

Rem holds out his hand, with palm down, at a certain height; a height that is familiar to her. It surprises her how his small gesture speaks so much.

"Henry's in his room upstairs," Valka says pointing towards the stairs. "He hadn't come down since arrived home. He even locked Toothless out, which never happened." The said massive cat yowls at the base of the stairs. "Is something going on?"

Rem didn't answer. He walks pass her – petting the sulking black Maine Coon fondly – and climbs up the stairs. She didn't stop him, merely staring at his back as he stomps to her son's room. She shrugs her shoulders and heads her way to the kitchen where her husband and breakfast are waiting for her.

Rem probably knows what's up and is trying to solve the problem. She doesn't know how but he is incredibly close to Amanda, whom Henry is close to. If Henry trusts Amanda and Amanda trusts Rem, then Valka trusts Rem.

"Why is he here?" Gerard asks when she sits down, a bagel in her hand. She shrugs her shoulders, not quite sure herself.

"He's asking for Henry and that's all I got from him."

They heard their son's bedroom door crashed open. A muffled shout is heard and heavy scuffle is happening upstairs. There is a heavy thud before everything goes silent.

The husband and wife look at each other, already stopped chewing their breakfast. A few more scuffles before the couple hears someone climbing down the stairs.

They look at the doorway and watch Rem passes by to the door, carrying a suspicious rolled up carpet on his left shoulder. He knocks on the door twice before exiting the house, signaling his departure.

The couple looks back at each other with eyebrows raise high up their forehead. Then they shrug their shoulders and return back to their breakfast that slowly growing cold.

.

Linda hears two knocks on her door before it swings open.

"Rem?" she calls out from the living room, to which Rem enters on her summon. "You're not at The Forge working?"

_**"I need to do a little bit of something. Where is Fawn? I need her in this."**_

Linda didn't question what that "something" is. But she did raise her eyebrows at the large amount of rope he has in his hand.

"She's in her room sulking. What happened earlier? She hadn't come down since."

Rem didn't answer. He immediately heads upstairs leaving her unanswered. She stares at the doorway for a long time before shrugging her shoulders and returns back to the television. It's not long before she hears a bang from upstairs.

"REM! WHAT THE F-"

Linda sits there awkwardly as she hears colorful words from her daughter as a scuffle happened in her bedroom.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME YOU B-"

She hears a hard slam that caused Linda to wince. She sympathizes at whoever got smack down.

"THAT HURT LIKE HELL!"

In which is her daughter.

There is another scuffle going on and a thud is heard, follow by a lighter scuffle.

"FRMMMRMFM!"

Even through downstairs Linda could tell Rem had stuffed something in Amanda's mouth.

"REEEFFMFM!"

And another one…

"EEEMMMRMM!"

And there goes another…

Finally, silence. Linda blinks animatedly before she hears footsteps coming down the stairs. She looks over that the doorway, just in time Rem walking pass by.

Amanda is on his left shoulder, carried like a sack of potato, tied up around her torso, pinning her arms to her side, and around her ankles from kicking around. And Rem had stuffed… three pairs of her dirty socks in her mouth.

She looks incredibly _livid_.

Rem knocks on the door twice before going out, signaling his departure. Linda stares at the doorway even longer before slowly turning back forward, not really watching the television.

She turns it off and lets the silence surrounds her. She's trying to grasp what just happened and longing for the presence of her husband.

.

Heather is just about to exit the restaurant when Rem enters, almost bumping into her.

"Hey there, Big Guy. Where had you gone to?" He waves his hand lightly, signaling that he's been here and there. She's suspecting it involves Amanda and Henry since they both are missing since earlier dispute.

"Gobber's been demanding for you though I think that's just for show because he's enjoying a little too much tormenting Gustav and Madonna." Rem shrugs nonchalantly; even he knows that fact. "So what did you do to Hiccup and Astrid?"

He shrugs again, this time as if he has no idea what she is talking about. She smiles and shakes her head at him, chuckling.

"I know you want Astrid to be happy, I could tell." He raises an eyebrow as if challenging her on that fact. "You wouldn't even bother to lift a finger if you don't want to do it."

He looks away and scratches the back of his head guiltily, seeing that he's caught red-handed. She smiles kindly up at him. She tugs his sleeve and he turns his head back to her. She had come to realize that sleeve tugging is one way to gain his attention. It also a way to make him stay in place, an action thanks to Amanda.

"You're doing well. You're doing a good job in keeping her in line."

'_And she's been doing an incredible job in making you more… human. I like you, really much.'_

"I don't know what you've done to them, but I'm sure you did it for their best, for Astrid's best, which in turn involves Hiccup. See you tomorrow, Rem." She just lets go of his sleeves when his large hand gently wraps around her wrist. She looks up at him expectantly, waiting for the reason before realizing that he _couldn't _tell her.

'_I need to remind myself he can't speak,' _though she realizes that his action speaks louder than words. She quickly fishes out her phones from her pocket with her free and hands it to him with the text app opened. He quickly typed with one hand – since the other is still around her wrist – before showing her what he had typed.

_Do you still remember the time where  
I want to know more about your brother?_

She couldn't hold back the smile that is blooming on her face. She nods her head and pulls him to the table they usually sit. He sits on the opposite of her.

"Where do I start?"

_How about your first memory with him?_

.

The sun is already sinking from the sun when he arrived at his cottage. He took an early leave, something Gregory isn't too happy about since he was gone for half of the day but Heather was on his side and Gregory caved in.

His chest aches at the thought of her, causing him to rub a hand on it. He admits he did not regret spending a little bit of a time with her, listening to her talking fondly of her eccentric older brother.

He remembers the warm look in her eyes and the soft smile on her lips when she talked about Derrick, the brother. They're different from the one Amanda not-so-subtly gave Henry.

Instead, they can be found whenever Amanda's looking at _him_ when she thinks he's not paying attention.

He… He doesn't know what that means. What does she think of him? What does she _actually_ think of him beside a man whose scars haunt him endlessly (though recently, those nightmares are significantly lesser)?

The aching on his chest seems to amplify it makes him uncomfortable.

He… He'll probably ask her. She won't give an answer, that is for sure but at least he tries. For now, he has one thing to check.

Before he even opens the door to his cottage he's already hearing sounds he does not want to hear. He opens the door and looks at where his mattress is laid.

He had kidnapped both Amanda and Henry and brought them to cottage to resolve the issues they're having between him (which he knows involved him). He remembered unrolling Henry from the carpet and gently putting him down onto the blanket because the boy passed out (he might've wrestled the boy a little too hard).

He also remembered throwing a tied and gagged Amanda right onto him as soon as he wakes up before closing the door behind him and left without a second thought.

It's been hours since then, so they'd probably made up. And they did _more _than just that because he walked in right where they start tearing each other's shirts off while lips are still locked with each other, with Amanda on top (_'Dominant girl,' _he thinks privately).

He resists the urge to cringe and he really needs to act fast because he doesn't want any… residue on his mattress.

Lucky for him, there is a stream nearby and he has just the right idea. He grabs Henry's discarded shirt and rushes over to the stream, soaking it wet and make sure it is _soaking _wet before rushing back into his cottage.

He arrives just as Amanda's hands work their way to unbuckle Henry's belt. Without hesitation, he throws the wet shirt right onto her back.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH! HOLY FU-"

"WHA-"

"-K! COLD! COLD! _COLD!_"

"WHAT!? WHAT!? WHAT!? WHA-"

Amanda rolls over while simultaneously throwing away the soaked shirt from her, revealing a dazed and shirtless Henry whose lips are bleeding and swollen (_'Correction, dominant and aggressive girl.'_). Amanda looks up at him and gives probably the most furious glare he has ever seen.

"REM! YOU SON OF A B-"

Well, it seems things have gone to normal.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

_You and I run away, blushing cheeks  
Howling wolves, colourful fireworks  
Every time, everyone, everything's full of life  
Everyday, everywhere, people are so alive_

"_Animal Arithmetic – Go"_

The bell rings, signaling the end of the class for today. She quickly gathers all of her stuff and rushes over to Fredrick before he could go out.

"Hey, Fishlegs, I need some help." He looks a little surprise at the request but quickly smiles.

"Sure, what is it?"

"I need you to go the local lumberjack and find me the finest blocks of walnut."

"Huh, another project of yours?" he asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, but it's not for me." He looks confused for a second before understands what she means. He smiles fondly.

"I see. Alright then."

"Also bring Snotlout with you." He pauses in his action and turns his head towards her so quickly she could hear his neck pops.

"What!? Why-"

"My dad is friends with the flannel dude." Scott appears out of nowhere and places his beefy arm around Fredrick's neck, causing the blonde boy to groan at the new weight. "I might get you a few dollars off from the price." He looks at his nails smugly.

"Make sure to get-"

"-At least two if we can because you need one to practice on and you'll pay afterward. Yeah, yeah we already know the drill. Come on, Fishface before Miss I-carve-a-lot opens her mouth."

"Snotlout…"

"And we're off! Bye!" And with that, Scott drags the round boy off quickly. Amanda huffs at their antics. Before she exits the class she looks around the hallway, cautious of the remaining of her friends.

They're being _unbearable_ ever since she and Henry are now a thing, constantly bugging her about "How good he is?" and "Who said it first?" and whatnot. She suspects they won't stop until they are satisfied.

She walks out of the class once the course is cleared. She's a little curious where the twins and Heather had gone to. Heather does seems like she has other things to do, and the twins… Well, she knows _where_ Rebecca had gone to, so Trevor had probably gone home.

She walks out of the school, half expecting either a redhead or a white clad man.

She's surprised when neither showed up.

.

"Hey uhh… Rem, isn't it?"

He hears a nasally voice behind him and he instantly knows who the person is. He turns and is confronted by a mop of red hair and a pair of green eyes. He could see the boy is barely stopping himself from flinching.

'_Ahh… It seems he's not used to my scars yet.' _It looks like he has to deal with this kind of person for a while. He has no bad blood to those who flinched at the sight of him; he had been dealing with them for a quite a while so Henry's not a big problem.

Also, shouldn't the boy in school right now? He looks at the wall clock and indeed that the school is not over just yet. Either Henry hadn't gotten to school just yet or he had just finished class.

Well, seeing that Henry is here, he leans the broom in his hand against a nearby wall before giving Henry his full attention. The redhead scratches the back of his head awkwardly.

"I uhh… I don't know how I should know what you're saying to me. I wish Astrid was here to translate whatever you're saying to me."

He raises an eyebrow at the dismaying boy. From all the praises Amanda had been showering him, he couldn't possibly be _this_ dumb. He looks around the restaurant, searching for the blonde waitress.

The said blonde waitress had just taken an order from a table. He whistles to gain her attention. She turns her head towards him in expectation before grinning when she sees the message. She rushes over and gives him the notepad and pencil.

"You can give it back later," she says before winking at Henry and saunters off. Henry blushes at the attention, scratching the back of his head. He writes down on the notepad and clicks his tongue to gain his attention.

"_**Is this good enough for you?" **_he writes down. Henry looks surprised and he's too tired to feel offended. It's not the first time someone is surprised that he can write; in fact, Heather's one of them, if he remembers correctly.

"Yeah… sure…"

"_**So what is that you want to seek me for?"**_

"What's… What's Astrid to you?"

Well, he's been expecting that it involves the hotheaded blonde girl. Henry's had been Amanda's long time best friend now turned boyfriend (he presumes, if all those kisses and moans were something the other day) so it's always his concern to question their relationship; by "their" he means him and Amanda, and by "relationship" there is absolutely _nothing_ is between them.

How should he phrase it into words?

"_**Pain in my ass," **_he writes down. Henry cracks a smile.

"You know, she'd talked quite a lot about you. You're always had been the center of topic whenever we chat online. And I got… jealous…"

"_**I could tell, I hope you two had resolved,"**_ he writes down and shows it to him. Henry smiles once more, kinder this time.

"We did, thanks for that by the way."

"_**The resolve or the block?"**_

Henry blushes furiously, fully aware of what he'd meant. The redhead scratches the back of head once more – a nervous habit, he notices – and clears his throat.

"Anyway, I'm sorry… for misjudging you," he says, shrugging his shoulder.

"_**I get that a lot, as you can see." **_He didn't have to point out what he'd meant; he is basically the physical embodiment of it. He remembers the time where Gregory admitted to him saying that he is a drifting iceberg or something along the line.

"It's still mind blowing that you've met my mother years ago."

He's starting to think that Henry is getting into idle talk because he had ran out of ideas to talk about. Unfortunately, he himself doesn't know how to get out of this situation, usually just let it through.

The restaurant door opens and a blonde girl steps in, gaining his attention. He's a little surprised that she's not with her friends. He snaps his finger at Henry's face before pointing at the said blonde girl. His face blooms into a warm smile.

"Hey, Astrid!"

The blonde girl looks up from her phone and at the redhead in surprise.

"Hiccup, you're here. I was wondering where you had gone to," she says, pocketing her phones before walking over to him. "I would love to stay but Mom just texted, she and Dad are craving for your muffins." He sighs while Henry looks at him with raised eyebrows.

"I didn't you can bake."

"_**I am starting to wish I do not." **_He whistles for Cathy, who quickly appears at his side. He gives her the notepad and pencil, nodding a thank you. She smiles up at him and then bounds off quickly to serve a table.

"He makes killer muffins. Dad couldn't stop himself from attaining them as much as possible. He's only docile because of mom."

"_**I'm sure Pencil will be too in the future."**_

"Shut it, Rem. You can come, if you want to."

He holds back a comment. Bringing Henry to the Hofferson household would surely an absolute _hell_ for the new couple. He knows how insufferable her parents can be.

And he enjoys watching Amanda suffer. And as an added bonus, he also gets to enjoy watching Henry suffer too. Today could be his day.

.

Amanda chews the muffin slowly, her appetite slowly diminishing. It's not a bad batch; in fact, it's probably one of the best one so far. And judging the look on Henry's face is already said it all. No, it's not the muffins at all.

It's the look her parents are giving her, and the fact that Rem is currently ignoring her.

Rem knew this is going to happen, judging from the way he is currently ignoring her. He _knew _her parents would be like this but didn't say anything. He had one-upped her once again.

And Henry is oblivious; he is oh so blissfully oblivious to the looks and the ignorance, probably because he doesn't know them as much as she does and so does not know what is about to come.

"So…"

'_Oh here they come.'_

"Who cracked first?"

Amanda groans. Her friends are already bad enough for prying into her personal life but her parents are going to be ten times worse. She just hopes Henry survives.

"I don't know what you mean."

She hears a cough next to her and she glares at Rem, who drinks a glass of water to cure his cough. He is well aware of her choice of words for her answer.

"Oh you know what we mean, darling," Linda rolls her eyes. "Who said it first: _you_ or him?" Now she smiles sweetly at Henry, who blushes under the new attention.

Henry had been constantly around her home ever since they became friends years ago until he moved away, so he knows her parents well enough. Unfortunately he doesn't know them _well_ enough; they had been _tamed_ all those times and this is probably the first time he's getting an exposure of what they are truly capable of.

"We never said anything that-"

"I-I… said it first…" Henry answers meekly. She turns her head and glares at him and he raises his hands in surrendered confusion.

The couple gets two different reactions from her parents. Her father whoops in joyous victory, throwing his fists into the air while her mother curses so loud the plates rattle. Rem continues to ignore the entire conversation, still slowly eating the muffin.

Her father quickly fishes out his mobile phone and texts something really fast as her mother gives him a stink eye. He puts his phones away and returns his attention back to them, still looks pleased while her mother scoffs.

Amanda looks at them expectantly, waiting for an answer for their unusual behavior but she's not getting anything.

"What's that about?" she asks hesitantly.

"Oh, nothing to worry about," Vincent answers offhandedly. She and Henry share a look.

"Astrid, darling, would you mind clean the dishes for me?" The sweet smile returns on Linda's face. Amanda turns her head to her mother, eyes wide as dinner plate. She knows what her parents are up to, and she _sincerely_ hopes Rem is not siding with them.

"But…"

"_Please_, dear?" her mother coaxes with a sweet smile with underlying threat. That snaps her mouth shut, knowing not to defy her mother. Henry is giving her a desperate look, begging her to save him from the situation but she is powerless against her family. She can only give him an apologetic smile.

Surprisingly, as she gets up and collects the dishes, Rem gathers all the remaining dishes and glasses and walks to the sink with her.

"What are you plotting, Rem?"

"_**Is it wrong if I want to help you to lighten up your burden?"**_

"Whenever you are involved, you only _add_ onto the pile."

"_**I just do not want to be near when your parents are interrogating Pencil. One awkward person is enough under this roof."**_

She narrows her eyes at him, not fully convinced but she lets it slide for now. Her parents had dragged Henry to the living room, but she keeping her ears _wide_ open, eavesdropping as much as she could. She could tell Rem is also doing the same thing but a lot more subtle than hers.

"So…" She braces for embarrassing question that is no doubt involves her. "Since when did you fall in love with our daughter?" her father asks though from his tone, it sounds like he already knows when.

Amanda feels a jab at her side. She flinches a bit and glares up at the nonchalant Rem who keeps cleaning the dish in his side. She ignores him and continues eavesdropping, though she misses Henry's answers.

"I wonder how our grandchildren will look like."

_**NUDGE**_

She glares at her companion and ignores him again, continues to eavesdropping.

"I would _love_ to have grandchildren with green eyes."

_**NUDGE**_

"Though your hair is a little messy for my taste."

"It's been _that_ messy since he was a toddler, Vincent. There's no way going around it."

"Have you ever heard of a material called "comb", boy?"

"We could introduce that to our grandchildren."

_**NUDGE**_

"Isn't it a little early to talk about grandchildren, Dear?"

"It's never too early to plan ahead. Take my word, boy; you'll never regret it."

"Of course, _wear protection_ as your first step."

_**NUDGE**_

"Do take your time; Astrid's almost a carbon copy of her mother: she's a little hard to please. So use your _tools_ as best as you can."

_**NUDGE**_

.

_**CLANK!**_

The trio jumps in their seat when they heard the sound. Confused and a little worried, Linda gets up from her seat and peeks into the kitchen.

"Sweetie? Is everything okay here?" she asked.

Rem and Amanda is standing side by side in front of the sink, their backs are facing her as they wash and dry the dishes and glasses from earlier.

"Everything's fine, Mom. No need to worry," Amanda replies over her shoulder with a sweet smile. The smile is a little strained, probably because of Rem. She shrugs her shoulders and returns to the living room to the awkward yet lovely boy.

She suppresses a giggle because Henry has gotten a lot more adorable over the years, and _dear God_ did puberty hits him hard.

He's _perfect _for her daughter.

.

Amanda hands him the pan after she washed it clean. He dries it with a damp towel before putting it away.

The pair completely ignores the visibly defined dent on it.

"Image the honeymoon… Oh, Linda. I missed our days."

_**NUDGE**_

Amanda slowly pulls out the butcher's knife from the counter nearby.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

_I want him to know  
What I have done  
I want him to know  
It's bad_

"_All Alright – __Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust__"_

Henry groans as he slowly waking up from his slumber. What time is it? The curtains are blocking the windows; it feels like he had woken up pretty late. He slowly sits up, rubbing the sand from his eyes with his knuckles. He roams his hand at the foot of his bed, searching for one thing as his eyes avert to the clock at the side of his bed.

It's Sunday. Was there something he has to do on Sunday? He racks his still groggy mind to think what he is supposed to do today. Ah yes, Amanda's coming over because she needs help with something.

"_Don't do anything funny, Lad," _he remembers his father's teasing voice. _"It's a little too early for that." _Funny how Vincent said nothing is too early.

His eyes widen when the thought finally dawns on him. He looks back at the clock and it's already late, and Amanda will be here any moment.

He needs to act quickly before-

"Henry, what is this?"

Henry swallows hard, and his throat is already dry as desert. He could count the number of times where Amanda used his name on one hand, and all of those moments she was really angry with him, and they are not his fond memories.

With the usage of his name and his targeted item missing, he could add two and two together and comes up with four (Since when did it come up with six?). He takes a deep breath of encouragement and slowly looks up.

Amanda is in his bedroom (How long has she had been standing there?). She has her hand on her hip, with the other grasping tightly onto the one he is seeking for. He gulps again and raises his emerald eyes even slower to look up at her face.

Blank her face, devoid from emotions. She didn't have any angry glare in those sapphire blue eyes of hers or furious scowl on her pretty heart-shaped face.

_'This is not the time to think that kind of stuff, Henry, although she does look more attractive when angry.'_ He would be suicidal if he _ever_ voice that out, especially now with her angry.

Is she even angry with him? He couldn't tell with her face devoid from emotions. This is the first time she is not scowling or glaring at him.

He didn't know which one is scarier: obviously angry Astrid where she is supposed to or emotionless expressionless Amanda where she is supposed to be angry.

"I ask again." Even her voice is flat and emotionless, and it sent even colder chill down his spine. "What. Is. This?" She holds up the object in front of her, shaking it in emphasis.

"A-Astrid…"

"Why did you say anything?" her voice starts to crack and the blank look begins to waver. His heart starts to crack and he starts to regret holding the information from her. He was hoping she wouldn't find out much longer than this.

"Astrid…"

"Hiccup…" His heart ceases over as her eyes starts to water. "Why…?"

.

Ah, Sunday, probably the day that could either be he works the hardest or the least of the week; there is no in between. Today is the latter, so he finds himself at an empty table and a warm drink in his hand. Sitting right across him is Cathy, sinking into her seat with her mug on the table, a content smile on her face as she finally gets her first break of the day.

Well, just because _he_ doesn't have to work hard today doesn't mean _everyone else_ does too. Cathy was working as usual like any other day and-

"Gustav! Madonna! Ye missed a spot!"

The younger pair sighs in dismay, going back to the other side of the restaurant once more. He's having a time off because Gregory wants to see Gustav and Madonna suffer.

Looking back across him, Cathy looks a little tired ever since she arrived earlier. She didn't go to school so it is not homework that tires her. He's a little curious, and partly concern (_never_ worries), of what makes the most excited and energetic girl of The Forge tired.

He looks up when the doorbell jingles, signaling a new customer has entered. He half-expects Heather to walk in because she the usual and regular customer of The Forge. A few weeks ago, he would've shuddered at the thought that he's looking forward to be with someone that beside the Hoffersons.

But that afternoon where he had spent his time with Heather was… pleasant, to say the least. In fact, he admits he and Heather have… bonded.

He internally deflates when it's just a random customer. Now he wonders where Heather had gone to. She hadn't visited for a few days now and his concern (_not _worry) increases just a bit (just _slightly, not much)_. He assures himself that she is busy with her family and/or her homework.

It's not like _everyone_ has time for him.

That… saddens him a bit.

Recently, he realizes that he's been seeking for attention (and not just to ignore it, like he had said a while ago). He does not mean the "mysterious, scary, intimidating" kind of attention, as he is the _physical embodiment_ of that attention.

No, he wants attention from the likes of… Heather or Cathy, or the twins even, or the Hoffersons, especially the Hoffersons. There is a word for it, but he doesn't know what it is.

He doesn't mind being predictable anymore. He doesn't mind that even Heather could decipher what some of his actions are saying. He doesn't mind that Cathy would instinctively takes out the notepad and pencil whenever he calls for her.

Those just saying that he has… he has…

The doorbell jingles once more, snapping him from his internal thought. He looks up and raises an eyebrow in surprise. Amanda and Henry walk in hand in hand and sit down at their usual table, the table where Amanda and her gaggle of friends usually sits. He convinces that that table is reserved only for them.

He looks at Cathy. She has her eyes closed and she looks even more content; she looks like she's sleeping but he knows she's not. He silently gets off from the chair and approaches the couple's table to greet them.

As he gets closer he raises his other eyebrow. Henry is sitting silently in his seat with his fingers keep fidgeting with his fingers. He refuses to look up at either of them, especially the girl sitting beside him. That is a little suspicious.

Amanda, on the other hand, looks a little smug and proud of herself. She's leaning back, one arm on the back of the chair. Rem adds two and two together and a little bit displeased with the outcome. He knocks onto their table once he is close enough.

_**"Do not tell me you used false deception on your boyfriend, especially your crocodile tears."**_ He had planned to sit with them but instead stands beside their table, just so to scold the blonde girl.

"At least it made him spilled the bean," she answers nonchalantly although smugness is evident in her voice. Henry is either didn't hear her or ignore her completely.

"_**Look, Fawn, I do not mind you use it to break hearts and squash spirits but this is a little too much."**_

"I should use it more and see what else Hiccup is hiding from me."

_**"I think this is not a good idea."**_

Henry trembles as Amanda smiles sweetly at him, his fingers turn almost white for gripping them so hard.

_**"This is not a good idea."**_

Amanda didn't get that because she's not looking at him. He sighs in dismay, partly for the poor boy. Henry looks so scared right now but then he looks up at him. He could see that Henry has something planned.

"H-Hey, Astrid?" the boy stutters, recovering from his fear.

"Yeah?"

"Can… Can Rem and I speak… alone?" Amanda raises an eyebrow at her before turning her head to him.

"_**If the boy wants a word with me in private I will do his honor. You will not hear anything from me if he does not want you to know." **_She purses her lips, quite unhappy with the answer. He looks at Henry, who looks at his girlfriend nervously. He clicks his tongue to gain the boy's attention and beckons him to join him with one lesser scarred hand.

He and Henry leave Amanda alone at the table. He walks over to where Cathy sits and she instinctively hands him the notepad and pencil without looking up, then leads Henry to the kitchen.

Once inside, he looks around to see if Gustav and Madonna are around, doing something they think no one is looking or Gregory singing in off-tune. Once the coast is clear, he brings Henry to the far back of the kitchen and then turns his attention to the boy.

He leans against the sink behind him as he gestures the redhead to start.

"I'm asking about…" Henry gestures towards his face, towards his scars. He raises an eyebrow, a little curious at the boy's sudden curiosity. He writes down onto the notepad and shows it to him.

"_**Tell me your reason why first," **_he replies. Henry looks a little uncomfortable but he did answer. He leans down and pulls up his left pant. He couldn't help but let his eyebrows shoot up his forehead in surprise at what he is seeing.

A prosthetic leg, just below the knee; Henry's an amputee.

"An accident with a Rhino," Henry starts slowly, letting go of his pant. "We've gotten a little too close to one and her cub; she became protective and literally overturned the vehicle. It landed on my leg and… the rest is history."

"_**I think that would explain you had gone for nearly a year?"**_

"Yeah, now you know," Henry says after reading the note he had written. Then, he cranks his neck back and looks at him in the eyes. "So answer my question, how do you… deal with those scars?"

"_**I think you should ask Mustache when it comes to loss of limbs," **_he writes but Henry shakes his head.

"I did, he told me it'll grow on me. That's not enough for an answer for me."

"_**Stick and Stone had probably more scars than me."**_

"No, I've checked." He raises an eyebrow at the redhead, who blushes and breaks eye contact for a moment. "Don't ask. Besides, their scars are from their own antics. The next best thing is you. So…" Henry hesitantly gestures at him, asking him to answer.

He takes a deep breath and releases it slowly.

"_**One thing you should know about me is that I am not proud of most of these scars," **_he starts and shows it to Henry first before continuing._** "The ones that you can see are the ones I do not mind, like the one you are seeing," **_he points at the claw scar on his face.

"My mother told me about that particular scar; you saved a lion from a poacher." He nods in affirmation before he writes once more.

He's going to write a lot during this conversation, and he's going to write quite long sentences. He realizes that, as he is currently writing, Cathy hadn't tear off the used papers. He's not sure what to think of that, but his insides feel warm.

"_**It is the one that you rare see that I am not proud of. Let me show you an example."**_

He puts the notepad and pencil down and pulls his sleeve, revealing the long scar that started from the wrist to the elbow. Henry looks at it, squinting a bit. He picks up the notepad and pencil once more.

"_**This scar is self-inflicted."**_

Henry snaps his eyes from the notepad and up at him, now wide as dinner plates.

"_**It is one of many attempts of taking my own life. I cannot empathize on losing a limb, but I would rather you lose a leg rather than having these scars, Pencil."**_

He shows what he had wrote to Henry but the redhead pays no attention to him, still in shock it seems that he was (Is "was" the correct word?) a self-inflictor. He waves the notepad in front of Henry's face. He blinks and shakes his head before reading it.

"How many are…" Henry swallows thickly, his voice trembles but he knows when the redhead means.

"_**I have lost count."**_

"Rem… Why…?" He slowly blinks at the question. There is an answer to that but he knew a long time ago that Amanda absolutely _loathes _it with passion. She would even _beat_ him for saying it, and she did once. He learned not to say it; instead he gives Henry a different yet reasonable answer.

"_**I am pretty sure Fawn had filled you in on that part." **_From the way Henry purses his lips he is correct; Henry knows quite a lot about him though he would argue it would not be enough to know him _well_, meaning Henry doesn't know him as much as Heather or Cathy or even Amanda.

"_**So how do I deal with these scars? I live with it, simple as that. There is no simple way to deal with them. You just have to live with it, accept it to be part of who you are now."**_

Henry purses his lips shakily.


	36. Chapter 36

**An early warning for a T-rated scene but nothing explicit... much. Just be prepare for thud, thumps and squeaks. And moans.**

* * *

Chapter 36

_I see stars in still water  
There're stars in still water_

"_Stars in Still Water – Go Live"_

He's come to a realization that the Haddocks are pretty wealthy, and that's being generous enough. Well, he should've made that connection a long time ago but previously he had no time to think about the Haddocks.

They also travels quite a lot, and he should've known about that a long time ago too but again, he doesn't care about the Haddocks that much before.

The one thing that is quite new to him is how close the Hofferson and Haddock are. He didn't realize they constantly visit each other before and after he came into their lives (or is it the other way around?).

The Haddocks are on a fieldtrip, and they're bringing the Hoffersons on a fieldtrip not too far from Berk. Being the Hoffersons they are, they dragged him along the ride. He protested quite a bit, but the combine force of Amanda, Linda and now Veronika he couldn't say no.

Now they are on their way to whatever destination they are going, he wasn't paying attention and he's not going to any time soon. There are three Haddocks plus one black cat, and there are three Hoffersons plus him. So there are eight individuals squeezed inside a van.

He had stuffed himself at the very far back of the van, taking the free space to partially lie down as much as he could; he's a little too big to lie fully down in the van due to his sheer size (he's almost as tall as Gerard but not as wide; that man is as round as three trees tied together and that's just his biceps). The Haddocks and Hoffersons are singing "Old McDonald" song or something, whatever the song name is.

He wonders if Gustav and Madonna will survive for how long he will be gone. He's pretty sure Gregory will go easy on them since he will be gone for a very long time, and the amputee didn't mind it, it seems.

He still clearly sees the horror on the look on Gustav and Madonna's face when they heard he's taking his first holiday. He wonders who the restaurant's previous janitors were and wonders if they had been tormented by Gregory much.

Cathy was supportive of his decision. Well, not really _his _decision; it was _against _his decision, to be precise. Heather (oh how he missed her when she was gone) actually _pushed _him out of The Forge and _demanded_ him to go with them.

Everyone was against his decision to stay behind. Surprisingly he is fine with that… to a point. Nonetheless he went along with them with nothing on his back, because he has literally _nothing _on his back, seeing no requirements of them anymore. Linda's pretty shocked when she realizes he doesn't have any other clothes beside the one he is wearing.

He _had_ a few but a strong gush of wind blew a pair away and he couldn't snatch another when wild forest kittens were playing with them. So he's left with only to one he is wearing. He washes them at night and dries them over a fire outside his cottage, except for his scarf; he takes _extra_ care for that.

She planned to shop for his clothes but he put his foot down seeing as he had agreed to join them against his will. She deflated and begrudgingly admitted defeat, much to his surprise because Hoffersons rarely admit defeats.

He looks over the seats and at the new couple in the van who are leaning against each other and he suspects also having their arms around each other.

Should he say they've gotten disgustingly close in just a short period amount of time? He can't say he's surprise because they're best friends; they know each other ins and outs. He lays his head back down and closes his eyes.

_**MEOW!**_

Oh, and Toothless joins him at the back of the van, lying on his chest. The giant black Maine Coon seems to take a liking of him, a reason he doesn't know because he can't speak cat.

He doesn't know how long they had been on the road; he can easily get lost in his thought. Usually it's-

"Pit stop!" Gerard suddenly yells and the van swerves out of sudden, catching him off guard as the cat – Toothless, he thinks Henry names the Maine Coon – yowls. He sits up, one hand on Toothless and looks at where they are stopping at.

They're stopping at some sort of a small restaurant or a café or something (what are the differences?) as the van parks.

"Alright, we're here not for long; just for a quick meal only," Gerard tells everyone as he turns off the engine. Everyone exits one by one, with him being the last one and shuts the sliding door behind him. He hands Toothless over to awaiting Henry before they make their way into the café.

He shares a table with the Hoffersons and the Haddocks are in another table a little away from them. Then, a boy – probably an employee and either just hit or still in puberty – approaches the Haddock table.

"Excuse me sir, no pets are allowed here," the pimpled face boy says in a voice that is so much more annoying than Henry's.

"Can you make this time an exception?" Henry asks, almost begging. He could understand the redhead; he knows how important Toothless is to Henry.

"No, sir; please put that thing outside or you can get out of here."

Okay, not to be judgmental but that was a little bit rude, and judging from Amanda's face she agrees too. She's about to stand up – probably giving the pimple-face a piece of her mind – but he quickly grabs her wrist.

"_**Let me handle this," **_he says when she gives him a hard look for holding her back. She looks at him in confusion before her lips stretches to a wicked smile. She sits back down as he heads over to the table where pimple-face and the Haddocks are arguing. He pulls down his scarf and puts away his glasses to reveals his scars and stands directly behind pimple-face.

"Sir we will kick you out if-" the boy cuts himself as if sensing his presence. Pimple-face slowly turns around and his eyes widens bigger than dinner plates.

He tries his best to give pimple-face his hardest glare as he looks down at him and make sure to curl down the corner of his lips a little. Pimple-face quivers in his place. Then is nose pick up an unpleasant smell. He looks down and curls his lips in disgust.

He's aware he's intimidating, especially with his height and his scars; he didn't know it is to the point of someone peeing their pants, like pimple-face. Well, except for _that_ boy, the one at the very top of Amanda's potential boyfriends before she goes to Henry's open arms.

He still has the list hidden on his person, still quite a number of names to cross out. Shockingly, Henry's name is not on the list, which is very ironic.

Pimple-face runs to the "Employees Only" door screaming while he hears a roar of laughter around him; he's pretty sure only the Hoffersons and the Haddocks are laughing while the rest just stare in horror at the sight of him.

He pulls up his scarf to his nose (partly to block out the smell) and returns back to his table. The Haddocks move to another table, closer to his, to get away from the nasty stench. He hopes the employees here learn their lesson.

A waiter arrives at their table, shakily taking their order because of his presence before dashes away. Another one takes the Haddock's order, smart enough to not question about Toothless.

They learned.

.

Rem is feeling a little bored as he waits at the table alone.

Vincent had suggested earlier for them to empty their bowels before the next journey so the two pairs of the married couples are taking their time in the toilet, doing number one and number two. He hasn't feeling it yet, so he waits for them to exit the toilet because he's pretty sure they are crowding it.

So it is only him on his own at the table, taking his sweet time sipping his lukewarm drink. And he is feeling bored. And he doesn't like feeling bored.

He needs a little entertainment. He looks around the café, searching for something to entertain him a little bit as he waits.

His eyes trails to the newly recent couple and a wicked idea came to him mind. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depends on one's view of the situation) it'll only involve one half of the couple. He quickly changes seat to face them much easier. It is such a coincidence that Amanda is facing him.

Amanda is staring lovingly into Henry's eyes. He doesn't know if he can get anything from her. He experiments by gagging.

Her eyes flicks to him just a fraction of a second but that is perfect. He listens closely to whatever they're saying. They're speaking in hush tones and he has to strain his ears to listen.

"Every night, I always think about you," he hears Henry says. He mock-gags but couldn't help but thinks how creepy that sounds. It's a little okay when Henry said but he thinks the creepiness level would shoot up through the roof if Amanda says it because she is a _creeper_.

"I've never done _it_ with anyone, you know?"

"Neither have I, Milady, because… I want _you_, for the longest time."

'_Are they really talking about it in this kind of time?!' _He couldn't help but think that it is a ridiculous. Their hormones are _really _going on overdrive to suggest it at inappropriate moments. He curls in lips in actual disgust rather than mock.

Amanda begins to smile. To the untrained eye, she's merely smiling. But to the trained eye, especially the eye whose owner is the main cause of it, Amanda is restraining from a toothy smile.

'_Oh, she's starting to break much earlier than I expect.' _He's feeling victorious, though the disgust is still present and it will probably stay until Amanda snaps. He thinks she break earlier is probably because he is ruining her special moment.

"Don't worry, I brought protection." Amanda bites her lips are her face reddens as he pretends to take a drink in preparation for next reaction. "I want to feel you."

'_Wow, Pencil is much creepier than I thought. No wonder they're so perfect together.'_

He purposely spills his drink on accident before ducking his head under the table to pretend throwing up. If he has a voice he would _loudly _makes the sound if he could. He looks back up and he could see Amanda's eyebrow twitches.

Shockingly, Henry pushes on, oblivious to Amanda's inner struggle. The redhead is probably pretty hormonal to not notice it. He needs to quickly plan his next reaction before Henry could open his mouth.

"Let me be inside you tonight, Milady."

He violently twitches at Henry's suggestion and feeling very disgusted, and those are genuine reaction.

'_Wow, Pencil, you're really getting your point across with no barrier.' _He's silently impressed at the boy's bravery and confidence and internally applauds. Also his genuine reaction had ticked Amanda a bit because he could see a vein pops up.

'_Okay, she's not as hormonal as Pencil.' _That is a genuinely good sign because he doesn't think he can handle a hormonal Amanda and he intends to keep her away from Henry if that ever happen because he wants to annoy her.

What's better to keep her away from something she wants? He'll probably lose a limb but it'll be his greatest achievement yet.

"Astrid-"

"Excuse me for a moment, Babe," Amanda interrupts Henry and that is his cue. Well, she snapped much earlier than he expects.

"_**That is worst nickname you've came up with and it is so disgusting I need to go to the toilet to throw up." **_He knows she can read him; he doesn't know how she can but she can. He stands up just as Amanda did and quickly makes his way to the toilet.

"_REM! YOU SON OF A HALF-TROLL, GET BACK HERE!_"

He could practically feel her chasing after him as he makes a break for the toilet.

.

They're resting the night at a cheap inn and Rem is starting to regret his decision to join them because-

_**THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!**_

He ignores the sound as much as possible, even though he knows it is impossible since the source is only separated by an unfortunate thin wall.

"Hiccup..."

The world has gone quiet for a short while, leaving him a blissful silence. He takes the opportunity to close his eyes, trying to remember back when-

_**THUMP!**_

The said thin wall shakes when it struck by a force from the other side. He releases an exasperated silent sigh as the rhythmic thumping begins once more.

_**THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!**_

"H...Hi...H-H-Hiccup..."

He slaps a hand over his eyes. Even on the other side of the room he couldn't block them off. He's trying to get some sleep here! And on the floor! He would've slept on the bed, if it isn't placed against the said wall that shakes from the thumping.

_'The things I put up with that girl.'_

But no matter how much he throws hateful words at her, loathes at her for what she had done to him, he couldn't keep them up for longer than five minutes. As much as he doesn't want to admit it she had changed him, for the better. And he-

_**THUMP! THUMP!**_

"Hiccup..."

_**THUMP! THUMP!**_

"Hiccup..."

_**THUMP! THUMP!**_

"Hiccup..."

_'Oh, for goodness' sake.'_

He reaches out and grabs whatever his hand lands – which turns out to be a table lamp for some odd reason is on the floor – and throws it at the thin wall with full force.

The lamp miraculously survived and safely landed on the bed. The thumping ceased and he is greeted by a beautiful silence.

"_Ass_," he hears from the other side of the wall before the silence finally stays. He releases a blissful sigh and gets into a comfortable position on the floor.

He takes advantage of the moment to let his mind wanders a bit; to where he once stood to where he stands now, before and after he had met her.

He knows his past but he wishes to not remember it; all he did want to forever remember is what led him to what he had become today: a mute and nameless man riddles with horrible scars and has no connection and goes by the tongue-twisting "_Hnýtur Rembihnút_".

He doesn't know whether he had any good memories, or he had forgotten about them. The only good memory he held is about the… cat? A doll, maybe? Or is it a cat figurine? He has no clear definition on the cat.

He releases another sigh and decides to put a halt in his mind track. This is the time to sleep. He closes his eyes and waits patiently for slumber to take over. With this peaceful silence, he'll be out any minute n-

_**SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK!**_

_'Okay, you ask for it.'_

He gets up from the floor and grabs a random towel. He goes out from his room and straight for the nearby bathroom. He takes his time in there, filling up a bucket with cold water and put the towel in it before turning up at the bedroom door right beside his, leaving a trail of water droplets behind him. He did not hesitate to bang open the (stupidly unlocked) door.

_**SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK!**_

_'Kids these days… putting rabbits to shame…'_

He sees a person on the bed lying on his stomach, but with two pairs of feet. There is in fact two persons on the bed, with one on top of the other. The couple is so busy in their activity they did not realize a company is with them.

He casually strolls over to the foot end of the squeaking (and dangerously rocking) bed and just stares with a raised eyebrow.

_'And here she says he has a firm ass. I couldn't even tell if that is his ass or a crinkle on his back.'_

Then, he takes out the towel from the bucket. He holds up the bucket and mercilessly dumps the cold water on the couple.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH! HOLY FU-"

"WHA-"

"-K! COLD! COLD! COLD!"

"WHAT!? WHAT!? WHAT!? WHA-" He throws the soaked towel on the naked girl when the boy rolled away. "AAAAAAHHHHH!"

He stands there, watching with silent amusement as the couple breaks away from their activity, now throwing the cold towel at each other before dropping it on the floor and settles down while still panting and horribly shivering.

Satisfied, he turns around and walks out the room, just as Amanda finally registered his presence. With just the feeling that bores the back of head he knows she is extremely furious.

"YOU MOTHERF-"

"Aaahhh…"

"-ING SON OF A F-"

"So… cold…"

"-ING COCKBLOCKING ASSHO-"

He closes the door to his room, although it did not muffle her voice any less; probably because he did not close their door. He gently lies back on the floor where his pillow and sheet await him and closes his eyes, waiting for slumber to come.

She's still cussing colorfully in the next room, her voice sharper and louder than ever before. He is convinced the entire town might wake up. As slumber begins to take over quickly, one thought crosses his mind.

"-ING COCKBLOCKING COCKBLOCKER FU-"

_'Music to my ear.'_


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

_Hjartað Hamast  
Eins og alltaf  
En nú úr takt við tímann  
Týndur og gleymdur heima hjá mér_

"_Hjartað Hamast (Bamm Bamm Bamm) – Ágætis Byrjun"_

"So how's the trip?" Cathy asks as amusement glitters brightly in her eyes.

"Pretty eventful, I might say," she replies, placing the mug to her lips. Cathy looks at her, the glitter lessens a little.

"That's pretty nice to hear, Valka, but I'm interested in _his_ side of the story." The glitter returns as she turns back to Rem. The white clad man hides his yawn under a palm and smacks his lips together, still looking tired.

Veronika had decided to stop by The Forge for the day. Her son had finally gotten back to school and her husband is off to work. She's currently on her long break and it pleases her to sit back and relax a bit.

So here she is, sitting right next to a tired Rem with an amused Cathy right across him. She had arrived at The Forge, right on time for Rem and Cathy to take a break.

He picks up the pencil and writes on the notepad on the table with messy handwriting.

_Hell_

Cathy didn't hold back the bubbly laugh.

"Now you're just exaggerating. Toothpick said you're quite content. Well, besides the obvious, of course." She gestures to his face, where resides a temporary scar.

Veronika holds back a mirthful snort as she sips her lukewarm cappuccino drink. She completely remembers how Rem got that particular "scar" which is slowly fading away; he's pretty proud of it, if she has to be honest.

.

_Veronika raises her eyebrows upon laying her eyes on the three._

_Rem is wiping a blood that streaked from the corner of his mouth with a paper towel before throwing it into a bin. He also has a black eye but he doesn't seem to mind it._

_Amanda is incredibly furious, the most furious yet. Veins popped at her temples, her veiny fists are shaking in anger and she's breathing very hard. She even has her teeth bared and occasionally snarls in anger._

_Her son looks incredibly wilted and very downed, as if something he loved so much ripped away from him. His face is also red blushing from something she didn't know what._

_"What… happened…?" Veronika asks slowly as the trio meets up at the van, Amanda stands the furthest away from Rem with Henry at her side. Amanda merely growls deeply and Henry ducks his head even further and face redder than before. Surprisingly it's Rem who answers._

_He lifts up his right hand, holding up the index finger. Then he lifts up his left hand, making a circle with his index and thumb. He points his index to the circle._

_As the index slowly inching its way to the circle, Veronika's eyebrows rise their way up her forehead, now getting the idea._

_Suddenly, his foot comes up between the finger and the circle, blocking the finger from approaching further. Now Veronika really gets the idea._

_That explained Amanda's anger, Henry's wilt and Rem's injuries. Veronika nods slowly as Rem puts down his limbs._

.

Scars… That is one thing that really stands out about Rem; he's _riddled _with them, on his hands, on his arms, and especially on his face. She doesn't know what lies under his clothes but she would guess they are probably as bad if not worse than the ones that are visible.

Many people are repulsive of him, scared of him because of those scars (half of the employees of The Forge are still scared of him actually) because she has to admit, Rem is pretty scary and intimidating.

She would've taken a step back in shock at the sight of him when she got back from Africa if she hadn't already met him before. She had gotten used to him just a bit (just a _slightly bit_) though back than he hadn't had as much scars as he is now.

She remembers Henry telling her about some of Rem's scars, especially the Glasgow smile. Apparently a few back Rem and Amanda were victims of an aristocratic serial killer who put a"smile" on their face. Rem was her latest victim before he took her out.

She takes another sip of her drink as her mind wanders to the blonde girl who will soon enough be her daughter-in-law (it's a mother's instinct, she _knows _it'll happen).

One thing she realizes about Rem is that he _loves_ to annoy the living hell out of Amanda. Their fieldtrip recently had just shown enough.

Initially, she thought Rem is as blank as he looks, barely shows any reaction or have very little enjoyment in anything or more stoic than her husband. It turns out she was pleasantly wrong and Rem is pretty… endearing would be one word for it.

He has emotions and feelings but he conceals them incredibly well but his actions speak louder than words when it comes to his own amusement, mainly torturing Amanda, though she quickly finds out that Rem enjoys something more than torturing Amanda.

He enjoys just being with Amanda, period.

Rem hangs his head and something clatters on the table, startling her. She looks closely and sees it's a hairband.

…She hasn't realized Rem is wearing a hairband, and boy his hair is quite long seeing it covering his entire face. Rem narrows his eyes (his eyes are mismatched, blind on one side) – she suspects if he has a voice he would groan – and sloppily replaces the hairband with no care.

"I've never seen you this tired," Cathy giggles. She looks like she enjoys seeing Rem like this; probably because this is the first time she sees Rem _looks_ so very tired. Rem scribbles on the notepad again.

_Blame Fawn  
She put wolves to shame  
every night_

That earns a full blown laughter from Cathy.

Rem also likes to give people odd nicknames. According to Amanda, Rem could not "say" names.

Veronika doesn't _remotely_ understand just _how_ they could do it but apparently it is a Hofferson trait that they can understand what Rem is saying. She better not dwell on it too much or else she might get a headache.

She has yet to know what odd nicknames Rem had given her. Her son was unfortunately nicknamed "Pencil" and she has absolutely no idea why he could call her son with that.

The trio hears a crash somewhere in the restaurant follow by an array beautiful curses.

"God damn it, Madonna! Look what you made me do!"

"What are you blaming _me_ for, birdbrain? _You_ were the one who hold those pans and flapped around pretending you're a bird!"

"I do not, fishbreath!"

"Loner!"

"Bleeder!"

"Oh you've done it."

More crashes are heard, follow by shouts and yells from the pair. Plates and mugs fly all over the places, miraculously and thankfully missing all of the customers. Rem throws his head back, as if he's groaning to the world before quickly scribbles on the paper, shaking his head in dismay.

_Duty Call_

He stands up, readjusting his glasses and rewound the green scarf around his neck in a more comfortable position. He walks over to the source of the crashes where the fight is still ongoing, which seems to be on the far side of the restaurant.

Rem emerges with Gustav and Madonna in each hand by the back of the collar. The pair has gained a few bruises and now sulking as Rem holds them far away from each other.

Just then, Gregory steps out from the kitchen and his eyes land on the hanging pair, whose eyes widen in horror. Rem drops them right in front of Gregory, who is grinning evilly at the duo before he gets himself a broom and heads off to clean the mess.

The restaurant doorbell jingle, signaling a new customer has entered. Veronika looks over and surprises to see Heather and her friends but not Amanda and Henry. She narrows her eyes in suspicion.

She doesn't mind that those two are flirting with each other and whatnot – she _supports_ them, in fact – but there are times where they're a little too preoccupied with each other that they're pretty much cut off from the world.

"Val!" She looks at whoever calls her, who happens to be Heather waving her hand. "Come and join us here! You too, Camicazi!"

She smiles kindly, grabbing her mug and walks over to the crowded table, grabbing a chair in the process before sitting down right next to Heather. Cathy follows shortly after, sitting right next to the twins.

"Where're Henry and Astrid?" she asks. Half of the group rolls their eyes.

"Oh you know those two, probably a little into each other at the moment," Rebecca answers with a little hint of disgust, which is very ironic since Veronika herself _knows _how _obsess_ Rebecca is into a guy named Eret or something.

"Well, _one_ of them, at least," Cathy comments and the group snickers. Veronika narrows her eyes in displeasure. Sure, she's one hundred percent supportive of the relationship (she and Linda had already planned ahead) but there are times where they should control themselves.

"Someone needs to break them up," she suggests. Cathy smirks at her.

"I know just the right person to do it." The blonde waitress – taking her empty mug with her – and saunters over where Rem had gone to, who is not within her point of view. Not long after that, Rem appears out of nowhere and she watches a disgruntled Rem cracks his knuckles and walks out of the restaurant. Cathy returns back to her seat.

"He'll be back with them in toe," she tells them. Veronika hums as she keeps her eyes at the entrance door, where Rem had exited.

"That man is full of surprises." Surprisingly, everyone at the table has a fond smile on their face.

"He's pretty much it," Trevor answers cryptically, leaning back against his chair and crosses his arms behind his head.

"I've heard stories about him, especially which he likes to pull pranks."

Although Amanda is his usual target, he's not shy to target others too, though less… tormenting. She had heard stories ever since she came home that Rem loves to subtly mess around. Everyone at the table snickers.

"You don't know _half_ of it," Scott says. She looks them curiously. "Scar Face occasionally come to school and just stands there in the hallway just to creep out the students, though now some of the students are getting used to him, which he's a little bummed out about."

"A while ago I was studying alone at The Forge and Mr. Rem had secretly switched out my books every time I wasn't looking and he wouldn't admit that it was his doing," Fredrick takes over, trying to contain his mirth as he tells. "It was until I almost _fail _the test the next day when he finally admitted and apologizes for it but it doesn't feel sincere."

"You haven't heard _our_ story!" Trevor proudly proclaims as Rebecca cackles. "Rem had tied our hairs together without us knowing. How he did that was a _mystery_."

"And the only way for us to get separated was to cut our hair. Our hair is a few inches shorter now but hey, that's pretty cool prank if we had to admit. We just _had_ to steal that prank from him."

That would explain why people all around Berk keep getting their hair tied together; she had found the culprits and the one who inspired them to do it.

"Big Man had once glued the kitchen door shut and then proceeded to sleep on the floor," Cathy cackles. "Gobber and I were yelling for him because he stole _both_ of Gregory's prosthetics and my panties."

The group slowly turns their head towards her, who smiles sheepishly.

"I don't know how he got it but he did." Veronika decides to not question any further on that topic and turns her attention to the brunette beside her.

"You've got anything to add, Heather?" The said girl merely smiles softly.

"I haven't gotten any from his mischief _yet_, beside the fact that he calls me _lingerie_." The group laughs out loud. "I couldn't really think of anything that he would pull on me, beside the one where he carved out a whistle from carrots to sing me happy birthday."

And just like that, Veronika almost forgot that Rem is riddled with scars and that surprises her. Rem has some sort of entrancement that blankets his scars with his antics. She is amazed at how Rem had concealed his scars without even concealing them, though he's not actually doing it.

The entrance door's bell jingle and the group looks up right comes in is none other than Rem, who has Amanda over his shoulder like a potato sack and a flustered Henry at his heels. Usually Amanda would thrash around but she just hangs there on his shoulder, probably tired from… earlier activities.

Rem grabs a chair, pulls it to their table and deposit Amanda onto it none too gently, with Henry sits right next to her. Amanda glares at Rem but he ignores and walks over to pick up where he had left off, adjusting his scarf on the way.

"I'll get to you _next time_!" Amanda yells, shaking her fist at his retreating back. Rem merely waves a hand over his shoulder. Amanda grumbles while Henry clears his throat, shifting in his seat.

Veronika turns her head to the couple, taking notes of their flustered faces and messy hair.

"So what did you two do earlier?"

"Don't ask, Valka, _please_," Amanda begs not making any eye contact as everyone but her and Henry cackles.

Veronika hadn't put too much effort to get to know Rem during their fieldtrip, but seeing this and hearing from the kids, she's starting to regret her decision. Rem seems like a fun guy to hang around.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

_There're songs, sounds you bring to us  
You pin both the wings on us  
I hear, I see you sing for us  
You go tie a string around us_

"_Around Us – Go"_

Amanda leans back and assesses her work that had been done. She is a little proud of her work; it is not the best one because it's not the real deal but it's still holding up.

She's a little hesitant with it because it's one of her ambitious work so far. Not only that, she's using a reference where as she usually lets her imagination runs wild, so it is a new ground for her.

She looks at her work again and concludes she needs help as her skills are only in woodcarving. She can't sew to save her own life. She also needs someone who is great with coloring. She also concludes that the top hat needs to be the real deal, not part of the carving.

Satisfied with her conclusion she puts the work down and looks at the larger, untouched block. She could already see how it would turn out and lets the smile appear on her lips.

She'll start the real work next week. For now, she needs sleep because it's past _midnight_ and she needs some rest.

.

He is busy washing the dishes at the very far back of the kitchen of The Forge when the kitchen door slams open and he could already tell it's none other than Amanda herself to kidnap him to do her bidding or something.

He quickly dries his hand, grabs his coat and put it on and adjusting his glasses and scarf before Amanda could grab onto his sleeve and pulls him out of The Forge. They had done this a little too many times for his comfort.

"Oi lass! New Recruit is the middle of the work here! Could you please let go of him?"

"Over my dead body, Gobber!"

"Okay then!"

He sighs in dismay seeing Gregory won't save him. When would he ever? He couldn't remember the times where Gregory would ever rescue him. He believes the bald amputee is secretly scared of the Hoffersons, especially the females.

He wonders what Amanda could want from him to drag him off to her home. Usually, some day like today, she would either make out with Henry or just snuggles under massive amount of blankets. He knows because he had been there, more on the latter than the former, during those few times he was "forced" to sleep in the Hofferson's living room.

He would've tried to gain her attention to question her but he's pretty sure she'll ignore him until they're home. He has to blink and shakes his head a little bit.

_Their_ home? He hasn't considered the Hofferson household as his… home.

Shockingly… He doesn't mind that much anymore. The Hofferson household is now within view, and now he sees it in a new light. Amanda didn't hesitant to drag him in and he politely closes the door behind him. Her parents are not home, it seems. _Now_, it is a good time to question her, though she didn't stop pulling him until they're in her bedroom upstairs.

"_**Explain yourself," **_he demands once he knows she's looking at him. She didn't answer immediately, rummaging her wardrobe and throwing all of the content everywhere. He didn't bother to dodge when a few land on him, though he had to duck away when laced panties flew to his face and stays away from it like it's a disease.

"Tonight is one of my aunts' wedding ceremony," Amanda finally answers, her voice muffled inside the wardrobe that still impossibly holds a lot more. "Hiccup and his family are going to be there too."

"_**Why am I here, then?" **_he asks even though he knows she couldn't read him because her back is turned towards him. He quickly ducks as a bra flew over him. Now he looks at her now messy room in disgusts, especially the scattered undergarments. Why does she have so many?

Amanda suddenly turns around, holding a plain blue dress over her chest.

"How do I look?" she asks him, looking at him expectantly. His eye twitches, finally dawning on him why he is in her bedroom with half of her clothes all over the place.

"_**You want to impress Pencil," **_he says.

"Of course!" she shouts back, throwing the dress to the floor in frustration. "What kind of girlfriend am I if I'm not trying to impress the boy I love?"

"_**The obsessive kind?"**_

"No."

"_**The madly obsessive kind?"**_

"No, Rem!" She yells before groaning in frustration and rummaging through her wardrobe once more. "The wedding is _tonight_ and I haven't got anything to wear."

"_**And you realized that just now?" **_he demands ridiculously. Because really, how could Amanda be this careless? _**"Well, I could not relate to you on that one, Fawn. I never dress to impress, only to cover up." **_He is a little thankful that she didn't read that, especially the last part. He's starting to forget that he has them in the first place.

"Okay, you get out, I need to change." He rolls his eyes.

"_**I will be in the living room."**_

"Don't you dare run away, Rem!" Amanda shouts as he exits her bedroom and closes the door behind him. As he descends the stairs and enters the living room, he looks around the place for something to entertain him while simultaneously annoy Amanda.

His eyes land on the sticky notes and pen on the kitchen counter.

.

She looks at herself at the full-body mirror, frowning at her reflection, or more specifically at what her reflection is wearing, which in term what _she_ is wearing.

She's currently wearing a plain green dress. The reason behind it is because she wants to match with Henry's beautiful green eyes, though it doesn't look as good as it sounds. She doesn't look quite good in green, she begrudgingly admits.

She tears the dress off from her and searches through her wardrobe once more. She needs something better.

.

Okay, pink is better than the green but it doesn't look good with her skin. Not only that it's a little too short and too tight for her. She guesses she'll have to throw this one out. She still has time, though it is slowly ticking away.

.

She looks at the mirror and thinks to herself that this one is the possible candidate. She had decided on a silk red dress with high heels she doesn't remember she's having. And then she tied her hair into its usual braid but over her shoulder.

It looks quite good but she needs Rem's opinion on this. She exits her bedroom and carefully descends the stairs due to her heels. She found Rem in the living room, sitting on the couch scribbling something on the sticky note.

He's also surrounded by many crumpled sticky notes.

"What are you doing?" she asks in confusion. He didn't answer, merely grabs a handful of the crumpled notes and throws at her direction, eyes still on the notes. She manages to grab one before it falls and opens it.

_Okay_

She raises an eyebrow in confusion before throwing the note over her shoulder.

"Rem, I need your opinion on this one."

He still didn't answer, throwing a handful of notes at her again. She opens up one more and peers at the answer.

_Meh_

Now she's just frowning at all the crumpled notes all over the place. Are all these just one lined answer?

"Rem, come on, look at me." Once more, he throws a handful of those notes at her. Now she's a little ticked off. With the sticky note still in hand, she crumples it and throws it back at him, striking the side of his head. That gained his attention as he narrows his eyes at her. "Give me answers, Rem."

"_**I had given you my answers all three times, multiple answers."**_

"Not these!" she gestures towards the mess at her feet. "I need _real _answers. Now look at me and tell me honestly how I look." Rem throws his head back, releasing a silent groan before slamming the pen down on the table. He turns his head towards her, resting his chin on his palm.

_**"Good."**_

"No, I need more specific."

_**"Specifically good."**_

"Rem, _be serious for once_, would you?" She's getting tired of his antics. She's aware of him trying to annoy her for a while now, she's trying not to fall for it every time (which she is failing at) but today is not that day. Today is not the time to play around.

Rem narrows his eyes at her, pursing his lips, judging her with his mismatched eyes.

"_**If it is what you want then it is what you will get." **_He abruptly stands up, adjusting his glasses and headband. He grabs her by the shoulder and leads her to the front door.

"Wait, Rem, where are we going?" she asks him a little frantically, trying to break free of his iron grip on her shoulder.

"_**Shopping center."**_

"W-Why?"

He stares directly into her eyes as he opens the door.

"_**You need a serious makeup over."**_

.

She is still in her red dress and high heels as she is being dragged by Rem by the shoulder. Her feet are hurting from all those walking to the shopping center, the heels are not made for long walks, and Rem still wouldn't release her shoulder as he hastily drags her to their destination.

Amanda admits she doesn't like the attention she is garnering from the street. She men are ogling at her, leering even. She could see some tried to catcall her before they realize the tall scarred man beside here. That had effectively shut them up and advert their eyes from the pair.

Amanda is thankful of Rem's scary and intimidating appearance.

"Rem, could you slow down a bit? My feet hurt," she states, still trying to break free of his hand. He looks down at her from the corner of his eyes.

"_**I had not realized you are a whiner, Fawn. Had Pencil realized about this too?" **_She growls at him and would've socked him if he hadn't been gripping her so tightly. Her shoulder's starting to bruise, she could feel it.

"These heels are not made for walking, you know."

"_**Deal with it."**_

The shopping center is within sight and Amanda couldn't help but release a sigh in relief because she doesn't think her feet could take any more long walks. Once inside, he drags her to the clothing section.

"_**What is your body size?"**_

"I'm _not_ fat!" she yells at him, feeling offended at such question. "And you don't just ask someone about their body size, Rem." He looks down at her, face half obscured by his scarf, not saying anything. She growls. "Mid."

He nods his head in satisfaction while she grumbles. He leads her to a cushioned chair inside one of the many clothing stores. She thankfully sits down and immediately takes off her heels, massaging her soles. Meanwhile, Rem is off to somewhere.

She entertains herself with the thought that Rem, a tall, scary, intimidating man is creepily going through the female section of the store, looking at dresses and whatnot that is almost three times smaller than his frame.

"Excuse me, miss, can I help you?" an employee approaches her and asks politely.

"No need. A friend of mine is already on the hunt." She hears a whistle and smiles lightly. "And that's him calling." She decides to carry her heels instead of wearing them as she stands up and walks over to where she thinks Rem is at.

She then got assaulted by something that is thrown onto her head. She instantly knows she had found Rem because he's the only one brave enough to do so. She pulls down whatever is over her head.

"Rem, what's-"

Something hits her in the face, causing her to flinch back as the item clatter onto the floor. She massages the offended spot on her face and looks down at the offending item. It is a red hand purse, a pretty one that is.

"Rem, what are-"

Another thing clapped her face and the item clatter twice onto the floor. She glares at the item which is a pair of black flats. She quickly snaps her head back at Rem to anticipate the next item that might get flung to her face.

He is now holding a tray full of makeup tools and accessories. She glares at him, daring him to throw the pricy thing. Thankfully he didn't, merely beckons her to walk to the counter. The total price is much more she could afford yet Rem didn't bat an eye as he pays.

She walks home with her new footwear, carrying her high heels in one hand and a plastic bag in the other. She and Rem are rushing a little to get home because time is running out.

"You know you don't have to pay for these, right?"

"_**It will worth the money, if it gets you off my back," **_he answers. She smiles because despite his quite harsh words (like they usually are) she can read between the lines; he just uses her reasons as his excuse. When they finally arrived home her parents are already there, already suit up and prepared.

"There you are, Astrid; we've been looking for you. Oh hi, Rem," Vincent greets the tall man, who waves a hand in reply.

"Are you ready yet? We're about to go," her mother says. Rem snaps his fingers to gain her attention.

"_**Would you terribly mind if you arrive a little bit late? Fawn here needs a little makeover," **_he asks, placing a hand on Amanda's head. Her mother looks at them with a raised curious eyebrow before telling Vincent his request.

"Sure, but don't take too much time. We need to be there in an hour," Vincent says, allowing them the extra time. Rem nods his head thanks before dragging Amanda upstairs. As soon as he opens her bedroom door, he twitches. He turns her head towards him with a hand on her head.

"_**Goodness gracious, Fawn, have you not clean up your room?" **_he demands, giving her a hard look.

"What? I was in a hurry," she reasons, raising her hands in surrendering gesture. He shakes his head before pushing through the mess. "Are you sure you know what you're doing, Rem?" she asks nervously as he sits her on her bed.

"_**If you recall, Fawn, I had worked everywhere and anywhere before I met you," **_he tells her before taking the plastic bag from her hand and fishes out all of its content. He makes sure she is within sight of his eyes. _**"One of them is a makeup artist."**_

"You were _what_?" she asks in absolute shock, almost getting off of her bed. He nods his head casually.

_**"The employer was desperate, running out of hands. So he hired me on the spot, have a professional employee quickly taught me everything and pushed me on the job. The females there envied my skills." **_He then hands her the new red dress. _**"Change up quickly while I wait outside."**_

He steps around her mess and made it to the door in three strides. Once he is outside, she did as he told her to. Before she could tell him to enter, she looks at herself in the full body mirror first.

She admires the red glittering dress, strapless and somehow accentuates her curves. Have Rem really knows her than well? Or is that just a coincidence? She likes to think of the former but it could be the latter.

"I'm good!" she calls out and Rem enters almost immediately. She sits back on her bed as Rem takes out the makeup package, looking closely at all of its content. "I hope you're as good as you said, Rem."

"_**Trust me on this one," **_he says, taking out a small brush. _**"I would not hurt you more than I should, Fawn."**_

That… is probably the nicest thing he had told her. She doesn't remember if he had ever given her compliments before, not openly to say the least; if he had ever, they're pretty far in between.

"_**Now please stay still. This may take a while."**_

.

Linda and her husband are sitting at the sofa, waiting for their daughter to come down. It is around forty minutes later when they finally hear her climbing down the stairs. When Amanda walks into the living room, Linda have her jaw hung open in shock.

"Oh… my… goodness… Amanda, my darling, you… are… _gorgeous_!"

There stands her daughter, wearing a strapless glittering red dress that accentuates her skin and curves and one hand holds a hand purse with similar style as her dress. Her hair is not in its usual braid, now flowing over her left shoulder like a golden waterfall.

She has an artificial blush on her cheeks, eyebrows perfectly lined and gloss red lips. She also has blue dangling stone earrings (which belonged to _her_ by the way). Combine all of them makes her blue eyes stand out even more.

Amanda smiles shyly and tugs her hair behind her ear, and _that _action just makes her even _more_ gorgeous.

"Dear God, Rem had really done it," her husband comments beside her. The white clad man finally descends the stairs; his scarred left hand is now a little messy with colors.

"_**It is the best I could have done," **_he replies, standing beside them.

"You must do that to me one day, Rem," she says, eyes still glued to her _gorgeous_ daughter. "I would've asked for it right now but it's a little too late now," she adds with a little disappointment.

She had to tear her eyes from her daughter to look at Rem to see if he has any reply. He merely crosses his arms over his chest, looking critically at Amanda.

"_**I do feel like there is still something missing," **_he comments.

Then he reaches up and takes off his black headband before putting it on Amanda's head. She looks surprised at the new edition. He moves his hair from his eyes as he steps back to assess the last minute makeover.

_Now_, Linda believes she has the _most gorgeous_ daughter in the world.

"But, Rem, don't you need this?" Amanda protest, starting to take off the headband but stops when Rem raises a hand.

"_**I do need it, but you need it more from now on," **_he answers, pushing his hair back once more. Amanda slowly lowers her hands to her side.

Rem walks over to Amanda once more and lets a bang cover her left eyes. He flicks her hand away when she tries to tug it back.

"_**Let Pencil do that for you." **_A smile slowly blossoms on her daughter's lips. She's reaching for Rem but stops when he raises a finger. _**"I would rather not let you mess up my work with a mere hug, Fawn." **_Amanda sags but smiles up at him.

"I would like to bring you to the wedding, Rem," Linda suggests and Rem turns towards her.

"_**I had already put up with you and your family on those fieldtrip, Doe. So please let me sit this one out."**_

"How about this instead: rest here while we're gone," she compromises, not letting Rem go without something to say thank you for making her daughter so gorgeous. The white clad man heaves a deep breath.

He nods his head.

.

On their way to the location, Vincent keeps glancing at his daughter through the rearview mirror. At first, it seems that Amanda is staring through the window, but he could tell she is looking at her reflection on the window.

He smiles to himself, silently thanking Rem again for making his beautiful daughter even more beautiful. He had rarely seen his daughter so speechless. His wife is still gushing over their daughter, still at awe at her beauty.

When they finally arrived at their destination, a little late than scheduled, Amanda is getting an unimaginable amount of awed stares from everyone.

And then, there's Henry.

The poor boy had dropped everything he holds in his hand as his jaw hangs open. His daughter smiles shyly, one hand twitches to tug her bang behind her ears but resists the urge.

The couple walks slowly to each other. Then, they just stand a few feet from each other. Slowly, Henry lifts a hand and tugs her bang behind her ears.

He had never seen the boy so _hopelessly _in love before, and he could say the same thing for his daughter.

Once more, he silently thanks Rem, who is probably sleeping on the cough right now.


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

_Og við horfumst í ókunn augu  
Samt höfum þekkst alla tíð  
Undir vökulum augnaráðum létumst  
Stöndum nú tvístíga_

"_Hengilás – Go__"_

Sunday is the day where the Hofferson lays back a bit, especially the daughter. Despite coming home late yesterday after the wedding ceremony, Linda somehow wakes up early in the next morning.

Despite feeling a little groggy as she climbs down the stairs, she has a soft smile on her lips, remembering the time how the crowd gawked at her daughter's beauty, especially Henry, who couldn't keep his hands off of her.

She also remembers the time when they came home and saw Rem sleeping on the couch, draping all over it. She covered him with a blanket.

She peeks into the living room and feels a little disappointed that the white clad man is no longer there, a neatly folded blanket replaced him. Rem had woken up very early and left quietly. She wouldn't mind having breakfast with him.

Thinking about breakfast, she slowly makes her way to the kitchen, hiding a yawn behind a hand and stops in her place at the doorway, surprised at she is seeing.

"You're up early, Sweetie," Linda comments when she saw her daughter sitting at the dining table with a mug in her hand. Amanda is never, _ever_, the one who wakes up early on Sunday. So seeing her up this early is a bit of a shock to her.

"Good morning to you too, Mom." Amanda takes a sip after giving her greeting to her mother. "I'm going," she says as she puts down her empty mug on the table.

"This early?"

"I need to meet up with Ruffnut over something," the daughter replies casually as she grabs her bag. She kisses her mother in the cheek before heading for the door. Linda notices something physical on her person.

"A new look?"

"Nothing big. Bye, Mom." She heads for the door without another word. Linda watches her adjusting her black hairband before opening it and closing it behind her.

She smiles to herself as she makes herself a coffee.

.

"Ass, is that you?" Rebecca squints at Amanda, who is currently standing at the Thorsten doorstep with Rebecca holding the door open. "Astrid would _never_ wake up this early in the morning on Sunday."

"Don't mind that," Amanda says as she waves a hand. "I need your sewing skills." Rebecca's eyebrows shoot up at the request.

"What?" she asks with a shocked tone.

"Hiccup said the tunic he got on his thirteenth birthday was from the Thorsten, so I know you sown it yourself." Rebecca grumbles and widens the door.

"Come in while you're at it." Amanda politely closes the door behind her as Rebecca leads her to her bedroom. "I didn't sew the tunic, by the way." Amanda raises her eyebrow in surprise.

"Who did, then?" she asks but Rebecca didn't answer. They enter Rebecca's bedroom she shares with her twin brother. The said brother is still sleeping in his own bed, snoring up a storm.

"Hey, Tuffnut, wake up." Rebecca kicks him in the leg that hangs over the side of the bed. Trevor chokes on his saliva and twitches awake. He groans groggily and rubs his eyes with his knuckles, yawning loudly. He sits up and squints and Amanda.

"Who's your friend, Ruffnut?" he asks and the twin sister rolls her eyes.

"Muttonhead, that's Astrid."

"Impossible, she wouldn't be awake at this hour."

"I'm insulted, Tuffnut," Amanda comments with no heat despite her words. Then, Trevor's eyes widen in recognition despite the fatigue.

"Oh, it _is_ you. I'm surprise you're up in the morning. Why are you here?"

"You're getting your fingers prick," Rebecca answers with a sinister smirk. Amanda looks at her in confusion as Trevor sags with a sigh.

"You want me to sew something?" Trevor asks in dismaying tone. Now Amanda looks at him in surprise.

"You sew?"

She shouldn't be surprise; Trevor is the talented one out of the two twins. He's already an exceptional chef, so the fact that he has a talent in sewing shouldn't be a surprise, but it is because the entire time Amanda had believed it was Rebecca who can sew.

"Yeah, yeah. What is it that you need? And I'm not doing it without a price!" Trevor says, holding up a finger in demand.

"Can't you just do it for a friend?" Amanda asks, scowling a bit at the male twin.

"These fingers had drawn more blood than you would wield a double headed axe, Astrid. They're not my fondest memories. Now state your request before I change my mind." Amanda sighs in defeat. She pulls up her bag and takes out its only content.

"I need you to make a full three piece suit." She holds up a very small figurine, just a little over seven centimeter and hands the little thing to Trevor. "It's not the final work; I hadn't started on the real deal yet, but I need you to make the suit roughly this shape but twice the size."

"You're asking a lot here, Astrid. It's not easy to estimate a fit size clothes over something that's not even present yet."

"I know but can you do it?"

"What kind of suit are we talking here?" he asks, inspecting closely at the figurine. She fishes out her phone and takes out a picture of the original figurine. She shows it to him and he inspects it with narrow eyes.

"You're working on an anime furry cat?" he asks with a hint of shock in his tone. "I didn't realize you're _that_ kind of person."

"It's a surprise gift for Rem, actually." Trevor and Rebecca look at him in surprise. "He has an attachment for this guy when he was young although he is an animated character. So, I wanted to give him a physical representation of the character."

Trevor looks back at the little figurine that was carved from a small block of walnut shaped just like the picture although without any features or clothes, now sporting a new light in his eyes.

"I'll do it," he declares with finality, carefully placing the figurine on the nearby table (Amanda's internally proud of herself when the figurine stands on its own). Amanda raises an eyebrow in surprise.

"No price?"

"No need," Trevor answers quickly, giving her a smile. "Ísjaki is a fun guy and a great friend, though I haven't seen him truly happy. If this thing here would make him truly happy, then I'll do it for free." Amanda smiles thankfully.

"Thanks, Tuffnut. Rem would thank you."

"It's nothing." Trevor waves a hand nonchalantly and cranks his neck to pop a few bones. "It's a good gift for him, a thank you gift with all of us involved in it. I might need Ruffnut to do some shopping for all the right items."

"I'm cool. Normally I would've decked him for suggesting it but I really like Ísjaki too, so this is an exception," Rebecca comments as she nods her head in agreement without question, looking forward in helping.

"Though I don't think I could work on the top hat, and I can't promise you it'll be a perfect fit since you don't have it yet," Trevor says, glancing over the figurine once more.

"I'll ask someone else for the top hat. I'm leaving it to you so you'll have a sort of reference."

"By the way, Astrid, a new look?" Rebecca points out.

"Nothing big, I got to go. Thanks again for this." She waves them goodbye as she makes her own way out of the house. Since she has spare time, she decides to visit the topic of conversation.

She adjusts the headband a bit, still getting used to it before making her way to The Forge.

.

"Excuse me, young miss but that table is taken." Amanda looks up and raises an eyebrow at the blonde waitress.

"Camicazi, it's me," she says in deadpanned tone. Cathy raises an eyebrow.

"Do I know you?" she asks suspiciously. Amanda groans and slaps a hand over her eyes. "Toothpick? Is that you?" Amanda gives her a light glare between her fingers. "What? I thought you were a stranger because you're _never, ever_ up this early on Sunday. Not only that, your new look threw me off a little bit," the blonde waitress reasons.

"Is it really that bad?"

"Worse, actually," Cathy corrects before she turns around. "Hey, Gobber!"

"What is it!?" The restaurant owner hobbles out from wherever he came from and stops in his track when his eyes land on Amanda. "Ah, damn it! I'll pay you later!" Gregory then hobbles away, grumbling unhappily under his breath. Amanda then glares at Cathy who turns back to her.

"You put a bet on me?" she hisses but Cathy shrugs nonchalantly, unbothered by her rising anger.

"Like I said, worse. Anyway, your order, Toothpick?"

"The usual."

"Creepy-Pasta and Crepes-around-the-corner, then. Oh yeah, by the way, Big Guy is cleaning the dishes in the kitchen, if you want to meet him." Cathy writes down the order and walks away. Amanda still couldn't get over the fact of how _weird_ the names of the menu.

"Excuse me, miss, but you're in my seat." Amanda turns around in her seat to glare up at the green eyed brunette. "Astrid? Is that you?" Heather asks in a shocked tone. "Are you actually up this early in the morning? Is the world ending or something?"

"Don't elaborate on that. Camicazi alone is already enough," Amanda groans as Heather sits on the opposite side of the table.

"You find out about the bet, huh?" Amanda answers with another groan. "So why are you this early in the morning?"

"I'm-" Amanda quickly shuts up and looks around the restaurant, searching for the man of conversation. When he is not around, she turns back to Heather. "I'm making a gift for Rem." Heather eyes light up.

"What're you making?" the brunette asks excitedly in a hush tone. Amanda fishes out her phone and shows her the picture of the figurine.

"I'm making him," she points at the picture. "I'm still working on him, but I finished a small model of him. I went to Ruffnut and Tuffnut to sew the suit for the figurine, though they said they couldn't work out for the top hat."

"I could do that!" Heather declares loudly before quiets back down with an apologetic smile. "I mean I could try but… I've been thinking about giving him a gift myself for the longest time, but I couldn't think of anything to come up with. So if you would let me help in this, at least it'll make me feel better."

"I don't mind," Amanda reassures with a smile. "I would like everyone is in this together. Tuffnut said it perfectly: it's a thank you gift for Rem for being a great friend."

"Thanks, Astrid. I might grab Camicazi to help me out on it too."

"That would be better." Right on time, Cathy returns with Amanda's order in a tray on one hand. Heather greets her and she greets back.

"Hey Toothpick, Rem wants to see you after you finish," Cathy says as she puts down the meal. Amanda raises her eyebrows in surprise.

"Does he say why?"

"Nope. His mouth is shut tight." Then, Cathy suddenly smirks. "Also, I finally know where his headband had gone too."

Amanda's hand flies up to touch the headband while Heather's eyes widen when she finally realizes her new look.

"Is that…?" Heather trails off as she looks intently at the black headband.

"Rem gave it to me before I went off to the wedding ceremony last night," she answers her unanswered question.

"How much coaxing did it take for Hiccup to get his hands off of you?" Cathy asks cheekily. Amanda answers her question by giving her a deep glare but the blonde waitress isn't affected.

She turns to eat her breakfast as Heather orders hers. Before she picks up her eating utensils, she touches the headband with a lingering finger and lets out a soft smile before she begins to eat.

.

She enters the kitchen easily without regarding the "Blacksmiths Only" sign at the door; she has special access to the place, mostly to get to Rem. She slows down her steps as she goes deeper into the kitchen.

She had been walking into this place for almost three years now, all of those times for one reason only. Rem had been working in this place for almost three years now.

Rem still wouldn't admit that he has friends now. That saddens her a little bit; Rem had been alone most, if not all, of his life that he couldn't completely comprehend the concept of friends.

She's determined to break that. She knows Rem is starting to break; last night was the proof of it. He's starting to learn to become more human, more open. Her friends had been helping too.

Scott's egotistical talk and Fredrick's nerdy babble had helped him engage in the conversation a little bit. Rebecca and Trevor's constant fight had made him interact them in physical sense (mostly break them apart but that's still something). Henry had somewhat befriended him.

And Heather… Out all of her friends, Heather had been closest to him, with Cathy right behind her. She keeps seeing him with either one of those two.

Rem has friends, probably even more than friends. It's just that he doesn't see it yet.

She heads over to the far back of the kitchen, where Rem is now cleaning a frying pan. She watches his back for a moment, taking note how his shoulders are now not as broad as they were before, slumping down with no tension.

"Hey, Rem," she greets. He straightens up, turning off the tap and turns around to face her as he cleans his hands with a damp towel.

His hair – now no longer held back by a headband – is now covering his left eye but then he pushes it back with a hand. The effort seems useless because the hair returns. His glasses are off, so he is squinting at her. His green scarf is loosely wound around his neck with both ends are behind him probably to keep them from getting wet. Like usual, he's not in his usual white coat, hanging it on the backdoor.

"_**It is a surprise to see you up on day like today, Fawn," **_he greets back in his own way. _**"Mustache would not be happy when he finds out."**_

"He did, and he wasn't," she confirms. "So what are you calling me for?" Rem didn't answer immediately. Instead, he grabs his coat and puts on his glasses.

_**"Come on, Fawn,"**_ he beckons as he walks over to the kitchen door. Amanda stumbles a bit as she chases after him, a little surprised at the sudden declaration.

"Where are we going, Rem?" she asks curiously, adjusting the hairband back in place. She arrives at his side as side as they begins to exit the restaurant.

_**"We are going to have a haircut, and by we I mean me,"**_ he answers, removing a long lock of hair from his eyes once more. _**"It is what you wanted to do to me years ago and had not gone around it, is it not?"**_

Amanda stares at him with her jaw slackens.

"You… remember…"

_**"It is hard not to not remember when it comes to you, Fawn,"**_ he replies as nonchalantly as possible, but Amanda could hear the softness in his words. She flashes a soft smile at him before quickly covers it with a wicked smirk.

"Come on then." She roughly grabs his elbow and tugs him. "We don't want to be late, don't we?" She looks back at him to see his reply.

He merely sighs and lets her pulling him along. She flashes him another soft smile before turning back forward, walking a little faster than before.

Rem has cracked. That is a huge leap.

.

The bells on the door jingle as the pair walks out of the barber shop, with the blonde girl looks pleased while the man looks a little awkward as he runs his hand through his now shorter hair.

_**"Are you sure, Fawn?"**_ he asks once more.

"Again, Rem, you look good," she repeats patiently, taking a look at his shortened hair once more.

Rem's hair is quite intriguing. His long hair looked quite thin, with his locks keep obscuring his face. Now that his hair is a bit shorter, it seems to defy gravity. It is not short, but shorter than before. It didn't make him look bad; Amanda is being honest. He does looked good with his shorter hair, better than him with long hair.

She sees a group of girls, definitely older than her, sitting under a shade. Their faces are tinted with pink, giggling with each other while keep glancing at her companion beside.

"Look, you already gained some attention." Rem throws his head back to groans silently beside her, causing her to laugh.

_**"Let me go back in there and glue my hair back together."**_ He turns a hundred and eighty degree and marches his way to the barber shop.

"Rem, Rem! Hold up for a sec!" Amanda reaches out and managed to snag his sleeve, effectively putting a halt in his march. "No need for that. What's so bad about gaining attention?"

_"Aww, look; he even surrendered to the little girl!"_

_"Oh my Gosh, that is so adorable."_

_"Imagine what he'll do to his future daughters."_

_"Oh don't go back to your fantasy! It's a hard time getting you back here."_

_"But just look at him…"_

While she is not pleased to be called "little girl", she lets this one off for Rem's sake (and misery). She's a little surprised they didn't seem to mind his scars on his face. They probably hadn't noticed them yet.

_**"It means I have to bat off girls and guys off from me that are much worse than you,"**_ he replies as he walks beside Amanda once more, her hand still holding onto his sleeve. She knows that he knows that there's no point in arguing with her.

"Are you implying I'm a good girl?" Amanda gasps mockingly, covering her mouth with her free hand as she stares up at him with wide eyes.

_**"If you put physical pain infliction, verbal abuse and sexual harassment as in part of a good girl then yes, you ticked every box on that part."**_ Amanda tugs on his elbow hard and painfully, causing him to stumble.

"You are an ass, you know that, Rem?"

_**"You are a fawn, you known that, Fawn?"**_

She gives him a sweet smile before wrapping both of her arms around his and squeezes fondly. She could almost hear Rem's eye-roll and silent groan.


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

_Langt móldur og okkur  
Myrkur grám, grám hér  
Dauða hjár, linnurst, skrjáfandi_

"_Kolniður – Go__"_

Amanda decides to go a little bit of shopping after school, instead of going to The Forge. It feels a little weird not going to The Forge; she had gone there almost if not every day to the point it became a tradition for her and her friends, going there after school.

Today is going to be different; instead of going to The Forge with her friends she has a mission, an important mission. Her mind flashes back to yesterday, where Rem had a haircut and looks a little better than he was before. He managed to gain some attention (somehow) despite his obvious scars. She wonders how he would look like without those scars.

So that is what she is going to do today. She's on a search for any kind of treatment that would cease scars. She mentally hits herself because she knows they exist only very recently, because she is an uncultured fu-

"Gah!" Amanda startles out from her private thought when she bumped into someone, causing her to stumble back not enough to fall down. "I'm sor-" Her apology got cut off when she looks up at the person she bumped into.

He looks incredibly familiar, with his black hair (despite with some green locks), the shape of his face, his narrow glasses, his type of clothing and colors, and the way he looks down at her. The only different is, his eyes are green and he is almost probably exact seven feet tall. And the man has a long scar across his right eye.

"Uhm... I know I'm a sore sight to see this late in the afternoon but is something wrong, young lass?"

Amanda tries to spurt out an apology but she couldn't help but lets out a small laugh at his words.

"No, no. You just remind me of a good friend of mine," she answers with a smile. The smile then turns soft. "A precious friend of mine," she adds softly, remembering that Rem is still… opening himself to the world, cautiously, and in need of help.

He had put his trust in her to help him, though she knows he would never, _ever_ admit that he trusted her. But Rem is a man of action; his actions speak louder than words (if he can speak). The tall Rem-lookalike stranger raises his eyebrow.

"Oh." The tone he used suggests he is surprised at the sudden information. "Is this friend of yours also a sore sight to see in the late afternoon?"

For the second time, Amanda laughs a bit louder now. She finds the _very_ tall man quite humorous. She has to crane her neck to look up at him, even after he took a few steps back to spare her the strain.

"If you put "scars all over my face" as a sore sight then yes, he's a sore sight in the early afternoon, or morning, or any time at all," she replies back. He gives a short chuckle.

"One might call that _mortifying_. I'm a little surprise you didn't find said sight mortifying." She raises a challenging eyebrow at the giant man.

"What did you expect from me?"

"Oh I don't know, you wield a double axe while your boyfriend wields a flaming sword. Should I say that you ride dragons too?"

"Very funny. I wonder where you've got that from."

"Funnily enough, I've _been_ there, though it's been such a long time since."

Amanda feels amused instead of mortified at the giant man before her. The more she spends time with the Rem-lookalike, the more she finds him interesting; a silver bell on his right wrist tied with a worn green ribbon and a silver right on his right ring finger, and when he turns his head, she sees a lock of hair tied with a small green tie behind his ear.

They're eccentric quirks, but interesting nonetheless. She could see Rem would do such things too; he's a quirky guy himself.

"Well then, you must be on your way to somewhere. I apologize for bumping into you, young lass. You should go on your merry way." The giant man steps aside with a smile.

"Thank you." She smiles back. "It is nice meeting you." He nods in reply and waves goodbye at her and go on their separate ways.

That was… an interesting and weird encounter… She feels like being filler for an entirely crappy story.

.

"Excuse me, excuse me Miss."

She hears a voice behind her, growing closer and closer until she feels a tap on her shoulder. She turns around to see who is calling for her attention and sees a man with a kind yet apologetic smile, hair graying and wears a two piece suit.

"Sorry to interrupt your time but can I ask you some questions?" he asks politely.

She feels wary; she had just gotten out from the store, hands full with the necessary stuff for the treatment and a kind looking middle aged man had stopped her. She does not trust that kind smile, especially combining it with the two piece suit.

She had seen a smile from an aristocratic woman before and it did not end well for both her and Rem, more Rem than her.

"My name is Darwin Harrison. I would like to talk about him." The man takes out a photo with a very familiar face. She squints at it; if the face has a few more scars…

"You mean Rem?" The man's face lights up.

"Rem? Is that his name?"

"Uh, no; that's his nickname. His name is Hnýtur Rembihnút, at least that's what he told me," she tells him. The man, Darwin, takes in a deep breath and adjusts his tie.

"Would you kindly join me on a drink as we discuss?" Darwin asks kindly with a kind smile.

"Can I ask why?" she asks back, feeling a little suspicious.

"I am sure you are as curious of him as I am. I have his past with me, something I'm sure you're seeking right now. You have his future, something I'm seeking right now."

She's planning on saying no, but it seems that this man knows about Rem. She knows not to say yes, especially with her last encounter with an aristocratic figure, if this man is an aristocrat. But maybe, just maybe, she'll get a glimpse of Rem's history. He's probably lying but… she has to take the chance.

She nods.

.

Darwin had brought her to an unfamiliar but content feeling café, ordered a blend tea while she ordered just water.

"I've been keeping tabs on the guy," the man starts as he looks at her across the table. "I'd met him a few times before until the year two thousand and twelve." He takes out a file from a briefcase she didn't realize he was carrying the whole time and hands it to her.

"He… Hnytur Rembihnut… had a tragic past," Darwin starts, his tones tints with sadness as she looks down at the file, taking note how very worn out it looks. "His mother passed away during birth. His father died in a car crash when he was two, with him the only survivor."

She raises her head and looks at him, eyes wide and mouth slightly agapes. She's about to comment but Darwin doesn't seem to finish yet.

"His grandmother had a heart attack when he was three, followed closely by his grandfather eight months later. His uncle suicide when he was four and his other uncle died in a construction accident two months later. His two cousins drowned in a river when he was five and another cousin had a brain trauma. His only aunt died in a car crash on the day she picked him up at the same year."

Amanda could feel her mouth goes dry. The folder she's holding shaken due to her hands.

She had never asked Rem about his family; the subject had never crossed her mind before, and Rem had never talks about it either. Now she knows; now she knows why he said he had been alone. Rem is truly, _truly_ alone.

"He is basically and literally the last one on his bloodline," Darwin concludes. Amanda slowly nods her head. "But it's not strictly to his family, it seems." At that she frowns at him as she is fills with dread once more. "It happened to anyone who is close to him. A nurse who took care of him for two months died from food poisoning, his temporary caretaker fell down the stairs and broke his neck and a caring man got hit by a car."

That would explain why Rem would believe he is cursed. If strictly family (as morbid as it sounds) than he's just exaggerating but seeing that even other people affected too…

She could understand; she doesn't agree, but she could understand why Rem would say he is cursed. Was this the reason why Rem tried to ran away that time a long time ago? So she wouldn't end up like those around him?

"And then there is this girl, Kiara Neko Angora." She can't believe Darwin is still hasn't finish yet. Hadn't Rem had enough already? "At fifteen, she was raped by a group of men before left for dead. Rem said it was a mistake for crushing on her."

That one is probably the worst thing ever. She could feel the hair on the back of her neck raises and bile rises up her stricken throat. She manages to swallow it down. Their drinks arrive on time and she quickly throws down the file and downs her drink. It helps a little bit, but she's still feels sick at… _that_.

"All of those happened with him either around or watching. In fact, most of the information here is given by Hnytur-"

"Rem," she cuts him behind her cup. "Just call him Rem." Darwin smiles slightly.

"Rem himself had given most of the information. He gave vivid details, details his age shouldn't give." She looks at the file on the table. With shaky hand, she opens the file and greets by a thick pile of papers in different sizes, different colors.

Slowly putting down her cup Amanda looks through the file, gazing down at each page, taking note how each page the handwriting and grammar gotten better. It shaken her that the first top ten pages they were a child's handwriting.

"Some kids would've driven to suicide at this point." It sounds more morbid when it comes out from her mouth but she couldn't help but points it out. Darwin chuckle mirthlessly.

"Oh he did, _believe me_, he did so many times. He cut his wrists many times yet they weren't enough for him to bleed to death. He stabbed himself in the abdomen twice yet someone managed to found him both times and saved him, he made a deep long cut from his elbow to his wrist on both arms but an Army medic found him and healed him. He tried hanged himself but he just _hanged_ there, alive and not dead. He cut his own throat but survived and only lost his vocal cord. He burned his house down with him in it, but he was saved by a fireman."

Amanda gulps at the last one. She knows that one really well. She snaps close the file, couldn't take in anymore.

"It's like Death mocks him by letting him live."

Her mind flashes back to the aristocrat years ago, remembering him saying he won't be able to die no matter what.

'_This… this is what he had meant.'_

"Then one day, somewhere in twenty-twelve, everything changed. Rem suddenly disappeared yet he is everywhere. The file had stop filling; no more people had died around him. He no longer had any attempt of suicide. It's like he's turning over a new leaf. In my guess, it's where he starts embracing the name Hnytur Rembihnut."

At here, Amanda realizes she had barely spoken a few words while Darwin had ran his mouth a mile. Her mind is overloaded with information, sorrowful information that she would rather not hear.

Rem had tragic past, basically.

"I try not to get close to him, but I know sooner or later I might pass on like many others before," Darwin finally concludes with a sad smile. He shakes his head and picks up his ordered coffee. "So, that is all I have. Would you kindly tell me yours?" he inquires with a kind smile.

Initially, she wonders why Darwin is curious about Rem, feeling a little suspicious but quickly dismisses the feeling. Darwin is probably a caring man that looks out after Rem at a distant, trying not to get close to him or else…

Here she realizes, Rem didn't lose anyone, nor does he gain more scars; she remembers the doctor at the hospital (she forgot his name) had said that Rem goes to hospital at least once per month due to gaining scars, but she hadn't heard Rem going there much anymore.

Here she realizes, Rem probably have a brighter future than his past. His future is a bit more optimistic than his past.

"When I first met Rem…"

.

Rem looks back outside once more, probably the twentieth time for the last hour, and probably the thousandth time for the last three hours when Heather and the rest came through the door. Amanda was supposed to be with them but she's been missing ever since, and it's getting late seeing how the sun is setting.

He's not worried. he's _never _worry, especially when Amanda is concerned. He's not worried. He's just… _slightly _concern. Besides, it's _tradition_ to come to The Forge after school; breaking it is an offense (not really but the point is gotten).

"Is Big Man worrying over Toothpick? My, I never take you for the caring one." He gives the blonde waitress at his side a dirty look. Cathy merely giggles. "Don't worry over her; she can take care of herself."

He purposely rubs his cheek with one hand, over one particular scar.

"Well, most of the time," she amends. "But she's _Astrid_, and she's a _Hofferson_. You know how they can be."

He rolls his eyes in exasperation. Oh, he had been taking the brute force of it all.

"She'll be _fine_. Toothpick is a strong girl," Cathy reassures him once more, tugging on his sleeve as an emphasis. He releases a sigh and nods, making Cathy to beam up at him. "Now then, put down that broom and sit down because Gobber is a bit paranoid over your worry." She tugs on his sleeve once more before bouncing off to somewhere.

Maybe he should stop worrying (he is _not _worry). Maybe Amanda had gone straight home. Maybe Amanda had something else to do. Maybe Amanda is plotting something evil to get him. He shakes his head to clear away the thoughts.

Before he could move away from his spot, a vehicle stops in front of the window he is looking out. He squints at the driver, somehow feeling familiarity of him. The driver looks up at him, and he freezes upon eye contact.

He recognizes that man, the man who occasionally visits him until the year twenty twelve, before he picks up the name Hnýtur Rembihnút. And the man recognizes him as well, judging by how wide his aged eyes are.

A screech is heard before his car got replaced by a truck.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

_Your eyes… In the middle of the road  
Your eyes… It's the same story_

"_Icicle Sleeves – Go Live"_

She places the thick file and plastic bag on the table and then takes out the contents from the bag as soon as she arrived home. She's satisfied with all the things she had bought, feeling sure that Rem, in no time, will be good as new. She's looking forward how he would look like with less or no scars.

Encountering Darwin was… eye-opening. She had find out about Rem's past, something she had been silently dwelling for a long time; since she met Rem for the first time even. She's debating whether it was worth it to hear his past or not, because it's such a tragedy.

No wonder Rem hasn't realizes he has friends and people caring about him yet; he never _had_ any.

She looks at the file beside all the bags. She and Darwin agreed that she would keep the file, now that she and Rem are close friends. If anything ever happens, she'll put it in the file though she doubts she'll ever do anything with it.

Suddenly, her phone rings and then quickly silent. She frowns as she looks down at name at her screen. It must be something serious if someone left her a missed call. Disregarding all the plastic bags, she quickly exits her home and heads over to her destination.

.

"You call, Gobber?"

Amanda is very surprised, seeing the founder and owner of The Forge, standing outside the restaurant and smoking a cigar. He looks very concern, adding more lines on his already aged face. He looks up when he heard his name and relief washes over him upon seeing Amanda approaching him.

"Sorry for calling you on such time, Astrid. But…" he suddenly pauses. Amanda frowns, surprise quickly shifts into concern. "It's Rem."

He walks back into the restaurant, holding the door open for her to enter. She did but slows down at the doorway.

Rem is standing so still near the wide window, his wide unblinking eyes glue at whatever outside. One hand hangs limply at his side while the other grips tightly on the broom. His jaw hangs, leaving his mouth slightly agape.

He looks so shocked, the most shocked Amanda had ever seen. And it looks so out of place on his face.

"He hadn't move since earlier afternoon," Gregory starts, still concern in his voice. "He didn't respond to anyone, and it's scaring the customers more than he already should. Try bringing him back; he listens to you."

"What happened earlier?" Amanda asks, now even more concern at Rem's sudden behavior. Gobber fidgets with his mustache.

"There was an accident exactly outside. It's probably had something to do with that."

"Did you know anything about the accident?"

"A car, a truck, a sleep deprived driver and another driver. Only the truck driver survived. I didn't pay much attention, although I did hear the name "Darwin"."

Amanda turns her head to Gregory so fast her neck snaps from the speed. She stares at him with wide eyes, slowly grasping.

"As in... Darwin Harrison?"

"Aye." Gregory nods his head. Amanda turns her head back towards Rem, finally understands the situation. Rem had watched Darwin… her mind flashes back to the file she had back at home.

Another person had been put between the folders, for the first time in years.

She approaches him cautiously, still he didn't react. She reaches out and grasps his sleeve.

"Rem?"

He gasps and snaps his head towards her quickly, his eyes still wide in shock. At least she got his attention. Suddenly, he pulls away from her, his expression turns hard. She understands why. It's like that day years ago.

"Rem, wait!"

He didn't listen. He drops the broom and walks pass her and Gregory and straight out the restaurant. Amanda sighs, her face stricken in concern. She rubs her elbow and thinks to herself how to solve the situation at hands, how to bring Rem back.

His past, the one she had been updated _just earlier_ this morning by the man who is now deceased right in front of him, had come back to haunt him. She knows he will very likely run away once again, this time probably for good.

Then, she has a resolution.

.

_He puts his head through the loop…_

How long has he been walking? How far has he been walking? What day is it today? His feet are hurting, so he must've been walking for a very long time, but he doesn't want to stop walking. It is usually one of those activities that usually (emphasis on _usually_) clears his mind.

_He kicks the chair from his feet…_

Except… not today. Today… Today… The only thing he could think is the recognition on that old man's face before the screeching sound.

_He hanged there…_

'_Damn it,' _he curses in downed dismay, sick and tired of how the world decided to treat him, how _Death_ is mocking him. His fingers are twitching that familiar itch. He wants to write, to write the thing he had seen and felt about… the event earlier. It's something he usually does even if he's painfully reliving the events.

_And he waits…_

He silently wonders where that file had gone to. If he remembers correctly it was that old man who has it, or _had _it. He slaps a hand on his face, dismissing his glasses and feels his hand trembles.

_And he waits…_

He hates this. He really, really hates this. He had thought he had pass his Hell (_carried _it on his back even) but oh how he is so wrong. He's still in it, still deep in it.

_He waits…_

He could feel his self-hatred resurfacing; the feeling that he is a deathly burden is coming out once more. He felt this once recently: when he faced Amanda about her dear uncle, though not as intense as now.

_He waits…_

The feeling to just… end it all; close the book, end the chapter, full-stop, kick the bucket, whatever metaphors in between, it's returning. He knows, he knows from experience that even if he tries, intentionally or unintentionally, he _won't_ be able to.

_The noose loosens from its knot and he falls on his back, breathing hard. He stares up at the cloth that supposed to be a noose with wide eyes, shocked that he is _still_ breathing._

He silently curses Death for mocking him, and then curses the world for treating him like this. And then he curses himself, for just being himself.

_He looks at the box cutter he managed to steal from the store. He looks at the shiny blade, drawing into it. He sees his reflection and quickly grimaces._

_He draws the entire blade out and holds out his left wrist. He presses the blade onto his wrist and pulls back harshly. Red liquid seems from the wound and-_

_"There you are you little thief! Give- Holy cow, what did you do!?"_

He runs the same hand through his hair, his short hair courtesy of the same blonde girl, as he takes a shaky breath. He looks at the horizon, noticing the sun is peeking out at the horizon and wonders how it is still sunset.

No wait… it's sunrise…

Had he been walking around that long? Well, that would explain the aching, and now his legs are growing tired. He sighs shakily, now realizing it's time to go home. He's nearby the forest anyway so it won't be a long walk.

When he arrived at his cottage, he stops in his track. There he frowns in confusion. Right in front of his small cottage is a small bonfire, still lit even though he could see many ashes surrounding the base.

And sitting right in between of his cottage and the fire is none other than Amanda herself, surrounding herself with a very thick and woolen blanket. Isn't she supposed to be in school today? She looks up when she sees him slowly approaching.

"_**Fawn? Why are you here? And how long had you been here? And why?"**_

He has so many questions but half of his body is screaming to run away, away from her or she will be next. He fully admits his heart freezes over that that very thought. And he is… scared.

Yet he didn't run away; her eyes, unreadable or letting out emotions he is not familiar with, are freezing him in place. Amanda didn't answer as she slowly stands up, letting the blanket slides off her body. She is holding something in her arms, making him squint slightly to get a better look.

His eyes widen in recognition.

_**"Where did you get that file?"**_

He knows that file, more so than the back of his hand (or what is left of it) because of how much pain it has caused him. Amanda didn't answer, keep staring at him silently as the fire crackles between them.

"_**Fawn, where did you get that file? Why is it with you?" **_He asks again yet she didn't answer.

His breath catches in his throat when Amanda throws the file right into the wood pile. The fire burst at the new fuel, the fingers spread further and higher.

He stares at the pile with wide eyes, mouth slightly agape. All the pains and memories (no matter how painful they may be) he had suffered and written down, all of which are placed in that worn out file, is now consumed by the flame.

He feels… strange… weird. He could describe this feeling he's feeling as he watches the file burns. Is this feeling normal? Or is it because he never had any experience with it?

Then his view of the flame got blocked when Amanda stands in front of him, silently looking up at him. He looks at her for the longest time, wondering why she is quiet and throws the file into the flame.

There he understands her silent words.

He lets her grabs his sleeve. He lets her drags him away from his house, from the burning pile, from the file that contained his past.

He looks back at the file, seeing it slowly turning into ashes. His past is turning into ashes. He looks back to the girl before him. He repeats her silent words once more.

_'It's time to forget the past.'_

.

Linda and Vincent look up when the front door swings open. They see their daughter dragging Rem to the kitchen, where an ointment and multiple rolls of bandages are waiting for them.

Rem sits down on the offered chair and takes off the coat when Amanda keeps tugging on it, but he leaves the scarf around his neck. Neither of them said anything yet messages are sent across each other.

Amanda starts applying the ointment on his entire arms, a good amount of it before wrapping them with the bandages prepared. Linda blinks a couple of times before furrowing her brows.

When Amanda didn't return home last night she was rightfully worried. Even after Amanda texted that she'll be staying at Rem's home to wait for him still didn't put her at ease. Rem had said multiple times that his place can be very cold but Amanda reassured that she had her blanket with her.

And at the same time, she knows something is wrong with Rem. After nearly three years of knowing Rem it's almost easy to read him. And something is up; something is a little off with him.

.

"How is he?" Linda asks when Amanda finished dealing with Rem, entering the living room with them. Her daughter sighs.

"He is… still shaken," Amanda answers, looking back towards Rem in the kitchen. He didn't move, his arms lay limp on his lap. His glasses are off and his entire arms and hands are covered with bandages as he stares blankly at the empty air before him. "Still afraid."

"What… actually happened?" Vincent asks who also sees that something is off with Rem. Amanda takes a deep breath for encouragement before she fills in on her parents about Rem's current situation.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

_I see the sun, glowing, it's late, in shades  
We did the best we could - Only that you_

"_Stars in Still Water – Go Live"_

He stands before the door he had never approach before. It is one of the few doors on the second floor of the Hofferson household. It is a bedroom, a spare bedroom, a bedroom that is now belongs to him.

Linda and Vincent had approached him earlier soon after Amanda covered him in this paste and then wrapped him with bandages. They had urged him to follow them upstairs and led him to this very door. He remembered the words Linda said to him.

"_I'm not allowing you to go back to that rundown cottage of yours. Starting today and from now onwards, this spare bedroom here is now yours."_

"Are you going to open the door?" the girl beside him asks patiently, though he could tell it's running thin by the minute. She had been standing there since her parents left him to get accustom to the new bedroom, with her hands behind her back.

It's still hard to get his mind wraps around the thought. He now has a bedroom, in a house that is not his but a family who cares. He hesitantly grasps the door handle and slowly turns it. The door creaks open as he pushes it hesitantly. He slowly steps inside the bedroom that now has his name on it.

He looks around the room. It is barren but clean, a sign that the Hofferson often clean this place. There is only a simple bed, a simple nightstand, a simple closet and a window that mirrors the one in Amanda's bedroom; very minimum decoration, probably because it is unused, until now it seems.

"Can I ask you something?" he hears Amanda asks behind him. He nods his head. "I wonder, you said you had worked everywhere and anywhere. Surely you have lots of cash." He turns towards her to give his answer.

"_**To a point, but I do." **_Yes, he has quite amount of cash but not enough to call himself rich. He rarely uses a lot of it, only used on what is necessary like food.

"Where do you keep them?"

"_**Debit card." **_Amanda raises an eyebrow and he feels slightly offended. _**"I may be distant, intimidating and alone but I am not stupid." **_He must've said something meaningful because her eyes soften.

"Why not sleep in a motel or something?"

"_**They do not have a welcoming feeling like my cottage." **_He had slept in some motels, and a few pricy hotels, before he found the cottage. They made him feel uncomfortable, and unwelcome. He doesn't feel like he belonged there.

"Have you ever felt… at home?"

'_Home…'_

"_**I had not felt at home for a very long time, if I had ever felt at home," **_he confesses truthfully. He's not sure if the uncomfortable and unwelcome feeling of those motels is the reason why he doesn't feel at home, or maybe it's just him. He doesn't truthfully know.

"Even the cottage?" He has to think of an answer to that question. His mind wanders back to the place that he had slept in for quite a while; he doesn't remember how long he had slept there.

He vaguely remembered how he came across the cottage. He was still young, his self-hatred was resurfacing and he aimlessly walked around the forest to desperately contain the feeling, when he arrived at the rundown cottage. He wasn't thinking that time, just walked in and sat down and curled into a ball and silently wishing for his self-hatred to disappear, to which it did overtime.

Maybe that is why he stayed at the cottage.

"_**The cottage had a welcoming feeling but not feeling at home. A place to sleep or to stay yes, but not home."**_

"What about now? In this room?" He looks around the barren room and let his mind speaks on his first impression of it.

"_**It has a very welcoming feeling but there is more than that. I do not know what it is and I am feeling… intimidated."**_

He knows that part of those feelings is not the room itself. Part it is thanks to Linda's words earlier, and the meaning behind those words.

"There's no need to be scared." He glares at her lightly.

"_**I am not scared, Fawn. Just… intimidated." **_Amanda didn't seem convinced as she rolls her eyes.

"By the way, I have something for you." He raises an eyebrow in curiosity as she holds out her hands that had been hidden behind her back. The eyebrow slowly lowers down at the item she has in her hands.

"Uncle Finn wanted you to have this, so… I think you should keep it from now on," Amanda says, holding the wooden swan delicately in the palm of her hands. "And I want you have it too anyway." She gives him a small smile, holding out the swan towards him. Slowly, he holds out his hand with palm up and she puts the swan on it.

He looks down at the swan, one of its wings is broken thanks to him a long time ago. He runs a thumb on the carved swan by a pair of five-year-old hands. Now that he has a clearer mind that he had was before, he can finally admire the beauty of the wooden swan.

He feels sorrow that he had completely forgotten about Phineas Hofferson, and hates himself for forgetting an important person to Amanda, probably the most important person in her life. He takes a deep breath and releases a long sigh before approaching the window. He places the swan in the middle of the window sill.

His first bedroom's decoration.

"I'll leave you to your room then. Oh, and Rem?" she stops at the door to look back at him, one hand on the doorknob.

"_**Yes?"**_

"Welcome to your new home."

His mind grinds to a halt as she closes the door behind her. He stays silent as he turns his attention to the room around him.

Maybe… maybe there is a name to that unknown feeling, the feeling that is more than welcoming. He is still intimidated, probably because this is the first time he's feeling it but maybe…

He reaches up and grasps his green scarf with one hand. He looks at the bed. Slowly, he approaches it and carefully sits down. Hesitantly, he lies down on it and feels himself sinking into it. He releases a sigh of content.

He hadn't sleep in a bed for a very long time, and it had never felt so comfortable. It is not doubtfully better than the couch. He lets his eyes wander to the wooden swan on the window sill, feeling his eyes begin to droop.

.

When Amanda peeks through the door crack, she smiles at the sight of Rem sleeping in his bed that is a tad too small for him.

He looks so peaceful, more so than when he slept on the couch all those times.

She quietly creeps in and approaches his sleeping form. She carefully takes off his glasses and gently pries the blanket from under him before drapes it on his giant form. Then, she quietly creeps out and silently closes the door behind her, after giving the swan on the window sill a final look.

She's sure that Gregory would understand Rem's not showing at work for a few days.

.

Linda couldn't sleep, for some odd reason. She tries to not toss and turn or else she might wake up her husband. Given up with a sigh, she decides that a warm drink might help. She silently gets up and quietly exits their bedroom with a light click.

Before she descends the stairs, she looks at the door near the very end of the hallway, the spare bedroom where Rem sleeps. Ever since he (unofficially) moved in with them, Linda had found out that there are significantly lesser chores for her _and_ her daughter to do since Rem had done most of them, and that's just one day.

It is probably the reason why Linda couldn't sleep; she's already well rested because she had slept in the afternoon because there was _nothing_ else to do.

When she descends the stairs, she hears things going on downstairs. Thinking it is a burglar, she sneaks her way to the kitchen – her intended destination – where the source of the clinking sound came from. She audibly sighs in relief that it is just a familiar person but then raises a confused eyebrow.

"Why are you awake at this hour, Rem?"

The man – still partly wrapped in bandages that are now damp – is currently cleaning the dishes that were used for dinner earlier. Hasn't he washed them earlier? He looks at her over his shoulder and his eyes narrowed behind his narrow glasses. He still has the scarf around his neck, wound carefully to not get wet from the washing.

"_**I could say the same thing to you," **_he replies back before turning back to clean the dishes. She then stands beside him, leaning back against the counter beside the sink.

"I couldn't sleep. You?"

"_**I already had enough rest," **_he answers simply. She's not fully convinced but decides not to pry. Rem is still adjusting to the change. Even though he had been under the same roof for many times before today, it's the meaning behind the stay that Rem is not used to yet; she could see it.

She looks at his work and squints at his hands. They are wrinkled around the bandages for being under the running water for a very long time. Not only that, he keeps taking the clean dishes and washes them once again.

"Rem, what are you doing?"

"_**Cleaning the dishes."**_

"They're already clean." His hands stop under the running water before returning to their previous motions.

"_**I know." **_She looks at him worriedly when he answered.

"Rem, is something wrong?" He didn't answer immediately, though his hands slow down considerably, and she waits patiently.

"_**Doing chores such as simple as cleaning the dishes make me feel normal ever since I embraced my name," **_he finally answers after a momentary silence. _**"It keeps my mind occupied from going back to my painful past where I lost all the people I loved or would love."**_

He finally closes the water tap and puts the dishes away. He lets his hand falls to his side, gazing blankly into the sink.

"_**I do not want to experience the feeling of loneliness once more." **_Her heart trembles at his words. If he has a voice she is sure it would be trembling from suppressed emotions. _**"The death of the old man had painfully brought my past back to my present. All those deaths, losses, self-hatred and loneliness returned. I had thought embracing my name would have put my past behind me, though it seems I was wrong."**_

She feels so sad for this man, sympathizes him. Amanda had filled her in on his past. He should not have endured all the things he had endured; no one should. She understands why Rem believed he is cursed, why he did all those… attempts.

She didn't agree to them, but she understands. She just wishes he wouldn't have thought such things in the first place. She reaches for his hand and squeezes to offer comfort. He didn't react at the contact like he usually does.

"Changing is hard," she confesses to him. "It is really, really hard, and it won't happen in an instance. But you're never going to be alone ever again." She smiles when he finally looks at her with lost eyes (it is probably the first time she had seen such look). "Not with my dysfunctional family around."

He looks down at her for the longest time, not saying anything. The lost look gradually fades away as he sighs.

"_**Changing is hard," **_he admits. _**"But there is a very high chance of definite change."**_ He reaches up and fidgets with the green scarf around his neck, partially covering his scarred face. _**"Have you ever wondered why I work at the restaurant for so long?"**_

"Astrid told me you didn't stay in one job for long," she comments to the rhetorical question. He nods his head in affirmation.

"_**When I saved your daughter from that woman a long time ago, the scars I had received felt… different. It is probably because I consciously want to save Fawn. I found something in her but I could not put a finger on what it is yet it is something I am looking forward to. I stayed at Mustache's restaurant because I was constantly expecting Fawn to visit me, even though back then we do not know each other well."**_

She smiles softly at the fact that Rem is opening up to her before the smile turns sad.

Her motherly instinct kicks in the moment from the very start of the sentence, and that saddens her because she is probably the only person long enough to interact with him to be a motherly figure to him. She wants to hug him but Rem is not a hug type of person (she thinks), so instead she squeezes his hand and she could feel he squeezes back slightly.

"_**I may be mean to her only because my knowledge to common affection is limited." **_Her heart trembles once more at that. _**"I mean well and… I do not want to lose her like how I lost everyone before."**_

"You won't," she reassures him quickly. "You won't lose her or me or any of us anymore. We're here, and you're staying, for good." He sighs once more and the squeeze on her hand increases just a tad.

"_**If you told me that fact just two months ago I would have been… scared."**_

This is probably the first time Rem admits he is scared, or would have been scared, a big step for change. She smiles at him.

"_**I am never going to be alone now, especially with your dysfunctional family around."**_


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

_I see the walls, then see them fall  
You break through them all_

"_Around Us – Go"_

_**KNOCK! KNOCK!**_

Amanda flinches at the knocking on her bedroom door. She quickly stuffs her woodcarving work in the drawer of her table and slams it shut as the door slowly opens. She looks back and sees Rem's head poking through the crack.

"_**Dinner is ready, Fawn," **_he informs as his eyes narrow behind his narrow green glasses. _**"Am I supposed to suspect that you are doing something suspicious?" **_She tenses at his question.

"Why do you ask that?" she asks back, trying to act nonchalant as possible.

"_**I heard a slam, and your eyes are a tad bigger than usual." **_She resists the urge to swallow in nervousness.

"I was woodcarving, and you caught me by surprise." It's the truth anyway, and that seems to satisfy Rem.

"_**Do not be long; you have a tendency to be too much focus on the wood. I wishfully hope it is this wood and not the pencil." **_She blushes and grabs the nearest thing to her – beside the knife she's holding – which is a ruler and throws at him as he closes the door. She glares at the closed door before sighing in relief.

Her secret project is still safe; Rem _did_ suspect she is onto something but not know what it is. She's almost half way through completion but she still needs to hand it to the others, and that is whole another project.

The smaller project she did a while back was almost complete. It already had the entire suit and top hat, but it lacks details; it's just a carved block of wood wearing a suit at the moment.

She entrusted her boyfriend to do the details since he is very skillful when it comes to art. She had come to realize that he couldn't get the details just quite right, even with her guide. The tawny and cream colors are great, it's just eyes that are difficult.

They couldn't get the color right. Essentially they had spent on the coloring more than the wood and the suit combined, mixing different shades of green until they get the color right.

They still haven't got the right color and are still currently working on the color, but she just needs this one to finish. Putting a hold on her current project with a sigh, she puts down the knife and makes her way out of her bedroom.

Opening the door to Rem is a lot peaceful than she expected. She had anticipated a lot of teases, taking any and every chance for him to annoy her, taping her door shut, taping meters upon meters of red strings around the hallway upstairs and told them to not touch the strings or they would not have his muffins, or just hide their undergarments.

None of those happen, especially the last one because Rem avoided their undergarments – especially hers – like a plague whenever he did the laundry, something he doesn't had to do but did anyway.

Instead, he did almost every chore in their house, to the point where she and her mother barely had any work to do.

And speaking of her mother, Linda and Rem had gotten closer the past few days. She had seen them spending more time together, talking in hush tones and kind smiles (mainly from her mother because Rem didn't utter a word or smile).

She remembered seeing them standing in the kitchen one night when she was about to take a piss. She couldn't hear what her mother was talking, but she had a sad look on her face and Rem has his head bowed.

And they were holding hands, something she didn't expect from Rem. It's almost like a hold for comfort but she couldn't tell; Rem wouldn't reach out for comfort. And they refused to talk about it with her or Vincent.

When she arrived at the dining table everyone is already sitting in their chair, waiting for her. She lets a small smile teases her lips at the sight that now there are four people around the table. It looks livelier than three people.

.

"_**I am pretty sure you had realized how much Mustache required my assistance at the restaurant, right?" **_Rem suddenly asks her in the middle of dinner after knocking on the table to gain her attention.

"I do; very little, mainly because he enjoys tormenting Gustav and Madonna," she answers between bites. "I think they need you more than Gobber does."

"_**I think it is time for me to rescue them; I had been away for far too long." **_Rem is very lucky that he does not need to open his mouth to communicate with them. He could continue to stuff his mouth while saying two whole sentences.

From the corner of her eyes, Amanda could see her mother is filling Vincent on their conversation. She still feels a little sad that her father couldn't understand Rem and needs an interpreter.

"It's only a few days; you'd been longer."

"_**Still, I am within reach; I could go there right now."**_

"Are you sure?" Her mind wanders back to the time when Rem and Linda held hands. Rem nods his head.

"_**I think I had recovered enough. I should go back to work. I am sure."**_

"Alright," she smiles at him as she finishes her dinner. "But first we need to deal with those." She nods her head towards the bandages wrapped around his arms and hands.

"_**Once dinner is finished," **_he adds as he finishes his.

When the dinner does finished, Linda offers to help Rem with the cleanup, something Amanda raises her eyebrows at. Usually, she would either tell someone to clean the dishes or shoo them off so she could clean the dishes. Never had she ever offered help with the cleanup. Maybe she had come to an agreement with Rem.

Amanda didn't have to wait long for the cleanup to finish as she waits at the dining table, new rolls of bandages and ointment already prepared. The joint cooperation at the sink made the work finished much earlier.

As soon as Rem sits down on the chair in front of her he holds out his arms that are still wrapped in bandages, damped from the washing. Amanda carefully unravels the bandages and then cleans his arms with a wet towel. Once they're cleaned, she looks down at his arms and smiles in triumphant.

Most of the scars on his arms are fading. The ointment she had bought had work. His arms look much cleaner now that there are considerably lesser scars.

"_**I am still missing a couple of fingers." **_He raises his left hand and wiggles the remaining fingers.

"Only a few more days and they'll be gone for good," she says with a nod of satisfaction.

"_**Thank you, Fawn, for doing this."**_

'_It's time for a change.' _She didn't voice out her thought, merely smiles at him before the smile turns into a smirk.

"We need to deal with the next thing." She takes out more rolls of bandages, her smirk widens as Rem raises a confused eyebrow.

.

"So, is Big Guy finally out from house arrest?"

"He's not under house arrest, Heather. He's just resting."

"I know, I know; jokes," the green eyed brunette rolls her eyes as she smiles. "I can't believe I'm missing that guy even though he had gone longer."

"Before, he was on holiday. This one is unexpected, and it involved him resting his mind," Fredrick comments.

"Isn't that kind of the same?" Trevor asks, for once not in a war with his sister as they make their way to The Forge. Fredrick just throws his arms to the air in defeat.

"Hey Astrid, how's the progress on the figurine?" Henry asks as he walks beside her. She sighs before she answers.

"It's still quite a long way to go. Rem almost caught me yesterday. How's the progress on the color?"

"I almost got it, actually." He grabs his satchel and fishes out a folded piece of paper, the paper they had been used to experiment mixing shades of green. He unfolds it and presents multiple blotches of greens. "I'm feeling that it's just need a little bit more shine to it, and maybe darkens it a bit."

She nods her head in agreement with his decision, though half of the time she doesn't know what he is saying but that is one of the many reasons why she loves him. Henry quickly shoves it back into the satchel once The Forge is within sight. They enter, a little excited to meet Rem after a few days of absence. He is the first one they see and-

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The group except for Amanda screams at the top of their lungs at the sight of Rem. He has his entire head covered in bandages, except for his narrowing eyes, nostrils and mouth. He didn't wear his glasses, which explains the squinting. He seems to ignore them and continues to sweep the tiled floor, passing them by.

"What the heck did you do to him!?" Rebecca asks the nonchalant Amanda, untangling herself from Heather while the guys are still hugging each other.

"Healing him," Amanda answers simply as she goes over to their usual table, and the girls follow suit. They are still disturbed at the sight of Rem… mummified. Cathy quickly bounces over, looking happier than she was the past few days now that Rem is back. They hadn't even spoken a word and she's already written down their orders.

"I'm sure you realized there is a bleached mummy walking around, right?" Henry asks as his eyes trail to the white clad man. Cathy giggles behind a hand.

"Oh, don't I know it. He scared half of the customers away when he arrived earlier. Gobber had almost sent him away but I persuaded him to let Big Man stay." She looks at Rem with a mischievous glitter in her eyes. "Besides, it's fun to tease him when he's half blind."

They witness as Rem knocks into an empty table. His shoulders slump before he turns to try and navigate his way around the restaurant only to bump into a full table, freaking out the customers there.

The man is almost as blind as a bat without his glasses.

"Hold on, I need to save him." Cathy rushes over to the unfortunate man and grabs his sleeve. She pulls him to their table with ease. "You need to sit down before you cause more mess than cleaning up one." Before he could react, she already pulls a chair for him to sit before she runs off.

"_**I had taken my glasses for granted," **_he says as he sits down in front of her. _**"You never miss your sight until it is nothing but blur," **_he adds as he scratches his bandaged nose. Amanda just snorts in response.

"What's he saying?" Trevor asks in curiosity.

"He's just a complaining." His squinting eyes narrow even more at her.

"It's nice to have you back, Rem," Heather smiles kindly at him. "The past few days had been quite uneventful without you around."

"_**I think you are exaggerating a little bit. The absence of one man could not make such impact on another person's life."**_

'_I beg to differ,' _Amanda retorts but didn't say it out as she glances at Henry at her side. She hadn't stopped missing him from day one since he was away until he returned home. She could understand why Heather would say something like that.

"_**I am a little perturbed that I am not doing my job while at my workplace, all because I could not see anything clearly."**_

"Stop being a dramatic baby," Amanda interrupts. He turns his head towards her and raises an eyebrow (she thinks because said eyebrow is covered by loaded amount of bandages).

"_**One of us at this table still is, and he suckles." **_She narrows her eyes at him as her cheeks heat up.

"How did you know that?" she hisses at him. He didn't answer immediately, staring at her with wide eyes, unmoved in his seat.

"_**No…"**_

"What you mean- You _didn't_ know?"

"_**Do not tell me…"**_

"Don't say it."

"_**He is into that stuff?"**_

"STOP!"

.

"I'm heading upstairs," Amanda informs Rem – who is currently taking a break from being wrapped up like a mummy because he had been fussing about it – and heads for the stairs, but a hand on her shoulder stops her. She looks over her shoulder and sees the tall man frowning at her.

He lets his hand slides down her arm and grasps her wrist. He firmly yet gently pulls her hand to his eye level, which is way above her head, and narrows his eyes at her palm.

She then remembers the current state of her hands. They have multiple cuts all over her palms for accidentally cutting herself from all those woodcarving. She is rushing on the work, which means more cuts.

Without saying a word, he pulls her to the dining table and then leaves. She's a little too confused of his sudden behavior to go back upstairs. He returns shortly, with a first aid kit in one hand.

_**"Sit,"**_ he commands her, placing the first aid kit on the dining table with a thud. She did so as he told, feeling more confused. He opens the kit and takes out a few plasters. He pulls a chair and sits down before grabbing her hands quite delicately Amanda had to admit.

"Aww, Rem, you _do_ care," she teases with a smile once she realizes what he is doing. Rem snorts, but continues plastering carefully the numerous cuts.

_**"More like I do not want to hear how loud your mother can be when she finds out about these, and me not treating them,"**_ he replies as he takes out another plaster from the kit. _**"Whatever you are carving upstairs, please be more careful. I do not want you to bleed out from doing your passion."**_

Amanda holds back another comment and gives the man a gentle smile. She didn't want to ruin the moment anymore, with Rem showing her his rare affection.

This is probably the first time he openly shows his caring affection to her.

With the final plaster of the kit, he gently places it on the last cut on her hand. Her petite hand dwarfed compared to his. His hands not as big as Gerard's but they are quite big.

For an unknown reason, he didn't pull his hand back. He merely lets her hand rests on his palm. She gives him a confused look but his entire attention is on her hand. He looks deep in thought.

Then, he gently lowers her hand back to her lap. He stands up and takes off her hairband to fondly ruffle her hair. He rearranges back her hair before returning back the hairband and then stands up and walks away.


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

_I see you crawl, now you stand tall  
Grow and grow till tall_

"_Around Us – Go"_

"Big Man?"

He looks back and sees Cathy clearly thanks to his glasses (Amanda had taken a little pity of him and makes sure he can still wear his glasses even with all the bandages). He turns off the water tap and dries his hands before turning around to give her his full attention.

"Someone wants to meet you," she tells him with a wide smile. He cocks his head to the side in inquisitive manner. He grabs his green scarf, winds it loosely around his neck and follows her out of the kitchen.

He ignores the horrified looks he gets from the customers around him Cathy leads him to a man with a rigid posture and in a military uniform; a soldier. The soldier turns towards them and smiles a little too wide smile.

"Big Man, this is Derrick Johnson. Dagur, this is Rem," Cathy introduces them, and he could feel his eyebrows shoot up his forehead.

'_So this is her brother. I am a little surprised that there is very little resemblance other than the eye color.' _Derrick thrusts his hand out for a handshake.

"It is nice finally meet you, Rem. Heather had written quite a lot about you," the soldier tells him as they share a firm handshake before releasing each other's hand. He could feel Derrick is a strong man from the grip alone. He glances at Cathy and she instantly pulls out the usual notepad and pencil.

"_**Welcome home. I assume you are here to surprise your sister?" **_he writes down and shows it to Derrick, whose smile turns fond.

"Yeah," the soldier nods. "I wanted to surprise her at school but I couldn't stop myself from meeting the man who had made my little sister very happy."

"_**I am sure she will be much happier when she sees you." **_Derrick's smile lessens a tad at what he had written.

"I can't stay for very long, unfortunately. I have to leave very soon," he informs sadly.

"_**Nevertheless, your sister will be happy," **_he replies back, hoping that'll cheer Derrick up. The soldier smiles at him.

"Have you gotten into a terrible accident or something?" Derrick suddenly asks in curiosity. He looks at the soldier with a cocked head. "Your head is uh…" he gestures awkwardly at his head. Lucky for him, Cathy answers the question.

"Toothpick, who is Astrid, decided to help him out a bit to remove the scars all over his face," Cathy helpfully informs with a giggle. "He looks like a bleached mummy with that on; scared most of the customers away so Gobber grounded him in the kitchen for a while."

Yes, he is a little bummed out at his temporary position. Just as he thought he was out from house arrest he found himself in a kitchen arrest, denied to go out unless Gregory allows him to or someone is calling for him, or Amanda decided to snatch him away.

Here he realizes how loose Gregory's restriction is.

Gustav and Madonna are deeply upset that they're still doing the cleaning even though he's back to work.

"So Heather was right about that, huh," Derrick comments while crossing his arms. "She said that you're pretty much riddled in scars all over." He nods his head in confirmation. "What had decided you to remove them?"

"_**It was not my decision, initially." **_He shows that to Derrick and Cathy first before he continues. _**"Fawn had come up with it. I merely agreed a moment later. It is time for a change anyway."**_

He could see they smile at the words he wrote, especially Cathy. He wonders if he had written something that has more meaning behind it than he realizes.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

They jump a little when they hear the scream before looking at where the customer had ran away. He sighs tiredly before scribbling on the paper one last time.

"_**I think it is time for me to go back inside." **_He hands the notepad and pencil back to Cathy, nods his head towards Derrick before walks back into the kitchen.

"It's nice meeting you, Rem!" he hears Derrick shouts and he replies with a lazy wave. As he enters the kitchen, he admits to himself that he is looking forward at Heather's reaction at her older brother's temporary return.

.

He is waiting at the kitchen door right on time and watches from afar as Amanda, Henry, Heather and the rest of the gang walks in. Heather freezes at the entrance and her hands flies up to her mouth when her eyes landed on the uniformed man before her.

"What's up, li'l sis? Miss me much?" he hears Derrick says casually, though he could detect the wavers in his voice due to emotions. Without any word, Heather drops her bag and flings herself to Derrick, arms around his neck and legs around his waist. The siblings cry openly into shoulder and hair as the crowd applauses at the beautiful reunion.

His chest tightens at the sight and he has to take a few deep breaths to compensate the burning feeling. He still has yet to put a finger on what it is but it is occurring a lot more recently. He is less intimidated by it now, slowly starting to accept it but it still makes him a little uncomfortable.

The siblings release each other, but still within embrace and share a hush loving conversation as they wipe each other's tears. They have a smile that is meant for each other; it's almost similar to the smile Amanda and Henry share but different.

Heather's smile widens and she quickly scans the crowd surrounding them. When her green eyes landed on him her smile turns into a wide grin and excitedly pulls Derrick to him.

His chest tightens once more with a different kind of ache at the thought that the first person Heather could think of when introducing her brother to, it is him that came up. He is… touched.

"REM! BIG GUY! LOOK WHO IS BACK HOME!" Heather shouts excitedly, cheeks still damp from tears of joy. She stops right in front of him, a huge happy grin on her face as she still has her hands on Derrick's arm. "This is Derrick, my brother. Dagur, this is Rem I've told you about."

He merely nods his head since his only way of communication of people except for the female Hoffersons is nowhere to be found (Cathy is a little bit busy at the moment). She looks so happy that she gets to introduce her most important person to him.

His chest tightens again by the same kind of ache. He silently wonders in what light is Heather seeing _him_.

"We kind of had already an acquaintance, Heather," Derrick points out sheepishly. "I met him earlier." Heather snaps her head towards him, the smile falls but the excitement and happiness stays.

"What?! And you didn't bother to wait?" she nearly screeches and releases one hand to wave it frantically in the air.

"I'm sorry, sis, but I'm just too excited to meet him!" Derrick replies back, waving his own free hand in the air.

Despite the argument, he could see the happiness and joy in their eyes. They are happy that they are arguing with each other. They had probably missed it, for being separated for so long. That fact saddens him.

He didn't move from his spot even an inch. Somehow, he couldn't take his eyes off from the arguing duo. It feels different. It definitely feels different when Gustav and Madonna arguing. It feels similar like Amanda and Henry arguing but very different.

While he is occasionally exasperated whenever Gustav and Madonna are arguing, and taking pleasure whenever Amanda and Henry are arguing, he feels a little bit of content seeing Heather and Derrick arguing.

He doesn't know why.

.

Amanda catches Rem watching Heather and Derrick leave, gazing at their disappearing back through the window. She smiles lightly as her mind wanders back to the event a little earlier.

Heather wouldn't leave Rem, and Derrick wouldn't leave Heather. So they were standing at the kitchen door having a passionate conversation (Cathy had given Rem the usual notepad and pencil). The siblings were sharing their memories with Rem, who looked a little uncomfortable at the personal information.

Nonetheless, he stayed with them – or they stayed with him – until Derrick decided to go home, feeling a little tired, to which Heather wholehearted agreed. They bade Rem goodbye before skipping out of The Forge.

She wonders what it feels like to have a sibling; a sibling to argue with, a sibling to fight with, a sibling to annoy with, a sibling who she cares and cares of her; a sibling to share her happiness with, the happiness that is different than the one she shares with Henry.

As she approaches Rem, her gaze lingers on his back, more specifically the green scarf around his neck.

Maybe…

"You seem content," she offhandedly comments, having not knowing what to start. It's true though; he's a little bit more content than he was before, though it's a little hard to tell with his whole head wrapped up.

"_**I had never seen such smile on her face," **_Rem replies, sparing her a glance before looking out at where the siblings had disappeared. _**"She looks very happy, much happier than when she reminiscent about her brother a while ago, where I thought she was at her happiest and saddest."**_

"You like her," she concludes with a happy smile, looking up at him. Rem didn't answer her for a while, even his eyes glazes over.

"_**She is a good…" **_he suddenly trails off. She looks up at him expectantly, waiting for him to finish the sentence with a word she's hoping for. _**"She would not be my number one."**_

She slumps her shoulders and smothers down a sigh of disappointment. Instead, she gives him a small smile. That's probably the closest thing he would say to what she is expecting. Not only that, he cryptically admits that Heather is not the person he likes the most, she thinks he's saying.

Maybe it's…

When he suddenly turns to face her, she quickly hides her hands behind her back. She hopes he's not suspicious but when he narrows his eyes at her, she knows she is caught.

_**"Come over here,"**_ he commands her, crossing his arms over his chest. Feeling like a scolded child, she obeys and stops right in front of him. He didn't say any other words, merely pulls her arm from behind her and grabs her left hand and lifts it up to his view.

She had peeled off the plasters because they hindered her project and as a result adds more cuts on her hands. He looks back up at her, looking very displeased. She smiles sheepishly at him.

_**"Sit,"**_ he orders. She knows what he means. She heads to a nearby empty table and sits down on a chair while Rem follows behind shaking his head. Amanda highly doubts Gregory had resupply his own first aid kit, with all the injuries Gustav and Madonna gave each other (and it it's not them then it's the twins), but then Rem pulls out a box full of them from his coat.

He already came prepared.

_**"Do not think I would do this every time, Fawn,"**_ he points out as he pulls a chair in front of her and sits down. _**"I do not have such time doing such thing."**_

.

He grabs her upper arm just as she's about to leap out from her seat. She gives him a confused look, to which he ignores as he lifts up her hand to his line of sight.

_**SLAP!**_

Amanda tenses up just as Rem releases her hand with a shake of his head. She rubs the spot guiltily as Rem pulls his seat right in front of her, taking out a handful of plasters from his hidden pocket and puts them on the table.

Out of practice she hands out her hand – off from the plasters she peeled last night – to him just as he reaches out. With practiced hands he reapplies the plasters carefully.

From the corner of her eyes, she could see the well-hidden smile on her parents' face behind their mugs. Once all cuts are treated he drops her hands onto her lap and leans back with a sigh.

"I'm going now, bye!"

_**"Yes, you go now."**_

She jumps from her seat and quickly bolts to the front door. As she jogs to school, she looks down at her hands newly treated. She remembers what Rem promised two days ago and smiles to herself.

And maybe, just maybe, he could be…

* * *

**Sorry for late update. My laptop crashed and I lost everything and then I got sad but I am okay now, thankfully :)**


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

_Feginn fann ég þar  
Þökkum ákaflega  
Í skjóli neyðarhúss  
Og við sváfum  
Stórviðri ofsaði út_

"_Fljótavík - Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust"_

_**SCREECH!**_

_**CRASH!**_

Rem suddenly jolts up from his sleep, silently panting. He feels a foreign sheet underneath him, not the blanket he usually wakes up. He fumbles around, searching for his glasses before frantically puts it on.

He finds himself in a foreign place, a place he did not recognize as his cottage, on a bed that is oh so comfortably soft unlike the blanket on the ground. He could feel panic rises from him before he faintly remembers he is in the Hofferson's resident.

The Hofferson… yes, they had opened their door to him, welcoming him to their home. Their home is now his…

The Hofferson… Amanda…

'_Fawn.'_

He gets up from the comfortable bed and heads for the bedroom door, almost tearing it open. He storms his way to her bedroom, not even bother if he wakes the entire family with his pounding strides. He tears the door open, believing he had broken the door handle.

Seeing her sleeping, all safe and sound and away from danger, he releases his breath he didn't know he was holding. Miraculously, neither she nor her parents had woken up. He takes a few deep breaths to calm down and wipes the sweats from his forehead.

His heart is still beating so fast from… fear.

He looks back at the slumbering blonde. From the faint moonlight between her curtains – the weather is not as cold as Linda said earlier and it's clear tonight, and he half tempts to wake her up and brings her to the clearing for stargazing, which seems to lessen recently – Rem sees that she is off from her cover, and curling a little too tightly.

She is cold.

Without even a second thought, he silently strides to her bed and pulls the cover at the foot of the bed over her form until only above her neck up is visible. Amanda sighs in content and snuggles into her bed, without waking up.

_'Have I ever thank you for what you had done for me, Fawn?'_

Rem straightens up and looks down at her partially hidden face, taking note that she is still slightly shivering. He stays there for a quite a while, then turns around and catches the full body mirror. Slowly, he approaches it and bends down (it's a little too short for his size) to look at his face.

Tonight is another night where he is not mummified by Amanda, so he has a full view of his face. The scars are still visible but fading.

He almost didn't recognize his own face. In fact, this is probably the first in a long time he pays attention to his own facial feature. He had never bothered to, previously; even when he had gotten a haircut at the barber. He had never found himself worth his own attention, especially the fact of his self-hatred back then.

He knows he is intimidating but, with all of his scars in place, has he always been that intimidating?

Nightmare from a few moments ago flashes behind his eye in less than a second. He flinches and blinks multiple times to make the horror disappear. His hand curls around his scarf he slept with into a fist.

He looks back down at Amanda, with a different light in his eyes.

.

Her eyes flutter open willingly. She silently notes the ray of sunshine peeking through her curtains, showing it's already morning. Strange… usually she wakes up late today since today is holiday. Well, maybe it's one of those days where she's just in a good mood to wake up early.

She sits up willingly, which is uncommon really; she would be fussing just to lift her head. She silently notes that she is feeling incredibly refreshed, showing she had a very good night sleep.

She stretches and emits a groan of content before releasing a big yawn. Her jaw brushes against something, something that's a little too high for the collars of her pajamas. Her yawn immediately disappears and she stares down with wide eyes.

Rem's green woolen scarf is around her neck, gently wound around so it won't strangle her but tight enough to keep her warm. An offset color of her bedroom wall suddenly gained her attention, right beside the bedroom door.

The said man is slumbering against the wall right beside the door. His shoulders rise and fall from his even breaths, hugging his left leg to his chest and rests his forehead on his knee.

Rem is sleeping, with the same bedroom with her. She silently wonders why he put his scarf around her. She silently wonders why he is in her bedroom in the first place.

_"What do you afraid the most, Rem?"_

_**"Losing someone."**_

_"...Who?"_

_**"...Anyone."**_

Amanda blinks when the memories from a long time ago passed her mind and she comes to a realization.

Rem is afraid, of losing _her_. Rem had _actually _felt scared and he admitted it though his action right now.

Nightmare had probably struck him last night, came in here for assurance, and stayed for reassurance. He had probably fallen asleep at some point last night, or is it earlier this morning?

_'The last person to ever do such thing, besides my family, was…'_ Amanda trails off, frowning to think of a name, or waiting for a name to pop up. _'…Uncle Finn.'_

She moves her attention back on Rem, sadness in her eyes for the man she welcomes.

_'Are you that lonely, Rem?'_

His sudden presence alerts her about her work. She snaps her head at the table and silently sighs in relief that she had put the wood away before going to sleep. Then she looks down at her hands and feels a smile on her lips.

She had left the bandages on, getting used to them while carving. Then her mind wanders to all the times where he applied back the bandages and the tender careful touches of his hands.

She lets out a smile that is blend of wicked and fond.

.

From the kitchen, Amanda could hear Rem's slow heave steps from the stairs. She quickly looks up at the clock on the wall, which said a quarter to one in the afternoon. He had woken up much earlier than she would if she goes to sleep at his time.

"Good afternoon, Rem. Or should I say good morning?" she turns around and greets him when she heard his coming into the kitchen. "Sleep well last night?"

He didn't answer, busy rubbing his sore neck from sleeping at an odd position last night. Either that or he is staring at his scarf that is still comfortably around her neck.

"Mom and Dad left for grocery shopping, and you missed out breakfast and lunch altogether." Amanda returns back to cleaning the dishes, moving a strain of hair from her eyes. She half tempts to adjust her headband but decides against it. "Don't worry though; Mom had left a steak in the microwave for you. You can eat it now if you want-"

_**SLAP!**_

Her mouth instantly closes shut as her eyes snap wide open and her entire body freezes. She almost dropped the dish but the effect leaves a little bit quicker than usual.

"What was that for?" She glares at offender who leans back on the counter beside her. He's not looking at her but she has visible of his eyes.

_**"For giving me a nightmare."**_

Her glare immediately drops at his words. Her theory earlier proven correct by Rem himself: he did had a nightmare that involved her.

She smiles softly. Rem had admitted he had a nightmare, a big next step of change. Previously he wouldn't even admit anything.

"Here; you forgot this." Amanda unwound his scarf from her neck. Instead of just handing it to him, she reaches up winds it around his neck gently and pats his chest once done. It's a little longer on one side thanks to his sheer size that made her work a little difficult but it will do enough. "Are you feeling okay now?"

Instead of replying an answer, Rem suddenly reaches out and plucks her headband before gently ruffles her hair. This causes a groan from Amanda, looking up at him with a light glare.

"I'm not a kid, Rem," Amanda complains but didn't stop him from his action.

_**"You are still a fawn though."**_

She sighs and lowers her head slightly, but she couldn't help but smiles at his words. He brushes her hair smooth with his hand before placing the headband back where it now belongs. He places a hand on her shoulder to gain her attention and she looks up.

"_**Where is that steak? I am feeling a little hungry."**_

"In the microwave," she answers with a smile. "You probably need to heat it up since it's been left there for a while." He squeezes her shoulder very lightly before heading over to where the microwave is laid. She turns back to clean the dishes, being neglected for a little too long or else she wouldn't hear the end of it from her mother.

Instead of sitting at the table, Rem decides to lean back against the counter once more, the plate of steak in one hand. She looks at him with a raised confused eyebrow, putting her work on hold momentarily once more.

"_**I guess Mustache is a little unhappy with my seemingly increasing impromptu holiday," **_he suddenly comments to start the conversation. She could feel a smile creeping up onto her face, finally knows why he's beside her instead of at the table.

"I already called him you're taking the day off," she replies, returning back to the dishes while keeping an eye on his.

"_**I really should be fired for this." **_Amanda rolls her eyes before waving a hand as if swatting a fly.

"Eh, he likes you too much to fire you."

"_**He takes pleasure when I am not working."**_

"Only to torture Gustav and Madonna, not over your absence." She hears him sighs between munches.

"_**Alright, I will admit defeat on this one." **_She smiles in victory. _**"Is it not that this impromptu holiday illegal?"**_

"I don't know," she admits with a shrug. "I'm not really educated on that part."

"_**Strange, I was pretty sure you had gone to school." **_She slaps his arm with a hand.

"Just for your info, I'm in the top five in _all_ of my classes."

"_**Were you not the bottom five in your classes when Pencil was away?"**_

"Shut up."

"_**Is one of your teachers a whale biologist?"**_

She doesn't know how to reply to that question but it feels like it's a joke that had gone too old or very much forgotten.

Rem had quickly finished the steak and hands the plate to her. When she catches him narrowing his eyes she knows he sees the state of her hand. Before she could retract her hand he's already caught her wrist.

"_**Do I need to remind myself?" **_he asks her, scowling slightly down at her. She hides a knowing smile behind a guilty façade.

"I'm sorry, Rem. You know how much they restrict my movements," she gives him the usual complaint even though she peeled off the bandages on purpose. Rem looks displeased, predictably. He firmly pulls her to the dining table, disregarding her still wet hands, and she sits on a chair without any other word.

"_**You are wearing down my patience, Fawn," **_he tells her as he pulls a handful of bandages from a hidden pocket and sits down in a chair he pulls in front of her. If she's correct it is the same pocket he used to put her potential list of boyfriends back then. She wonders what had happened to that list.

"You know you could stop, right?" she retorts back. Rem didn't reply, merely takes her hands and places them onto his lap. She smiles softly when Rem focuses solely on her hands, wiping them dry with a nearby towel and reapplying the bandages carefully on the cuts, both old and new.

This is one of the very few moments when Rem is being delicate, showing his soft side to her. It's not very often, but it stood out the most.

"_**Have I ever mentioned that I like your hands?" **_he suddenly asks. She raises an eyebrow in curiosity but Rem's not looking at her. _**"The hand of a person can show how much of a character they are. Your hands are calloused from all the works you had done, rough but warm to the touch."**_

He finished reapplying the bandages but hasn't releases her hands. He places them in his and cups them, surrounding her small hands with his, and dwarfed by his despite one hand – his left hand – has lost a couple of fingers.

"_**You are a hard worker, though that statement wavers a few times." **_She resists the urge to punch him. _**"But you have a kind heart despite your occasion cold personality. Only those who know you well know that you are a great… person to have."**_

She smiles at his kind words, his kindest words so far. He is starting to open up and lets her in. She is a little disappointed when he still hadn't said the word "friend", still unsure of it, unsure of himself. But he is slowly unraveling.

"I could say the same thing about you," she replies. She wiggles her hands so she could brush her fingers against his palms. "Your hands describe you well. They are used to be filled scars, angry and ugly looking, showing your painful past and that you're still in pain."

She could feel his hands tremble at her words; it's only slight but she could feel it. He is still in pain, still a little stuck in the past of pain and suffer. She holds his hands as much as she can (his hands are quite big to wrap her hands around) and squeezes hard.

"But with a little help, your scars are disappearing," she continues, bending her neck to look directly into his eyes that still glue to their joined hands. "With a little help, you are slowly easing the pain away, slowly forgetting the past. With a little help, you're slowly recovering."

He still hasn't look up at her, but his hands stop trembling.

"Change is hard. But you're not alone, Rem. We're here; me, Mom, Dad, Hiccup and Heather, we are your _friends_. You can rely on us, always."

She feels his hands twitch slightly at her words. She had probably made an impact; a little impact, truthfully, but it is a quite an achievement when it comes to Rem. Finally, he slowly looks up and into her eyes.

"_**Have I say thank you, Fawn?"**_

"Many times, actually." She smiles at him, and he has a soft look in his eyes, the softest one so far. It is the first time she had ever seen such look. Suddenly, they hear the front door swings open and Rem removes her hands.

"We're home!" her father shouts as he and Linda enters the kitchen, placing a hefty number of bags onto the dining table, more than needed for grocery shopping. "Good evening, my boy! Have you eaten?"

Rem nods his head and probably saying something but he's facing away from her. Luckily, her mother is within his sight.

"Thank you, but Astrid cooked the steak," Linda says with a smile. She feels a smile twitching on her lips as Rem turns around and narrows his eyes at her.

"Were you complimenting my steak?" she asks teasingly and raises an eyebrow, smirking at the frowning tall man.

"_**I take that back. It is horrendous." **_She rolls her eyes at his denials. Well, it seems he's back to his usual self, his previous softness and tenderness are completely disappeared without a trace.

"You went more than just grocery shopping," she comments when her eyes land on the hoard of bags on the table. Her mother smiles guiltily.

"That we did. We bought some clothes for Rem, actually," Linda says. The said man straightens in surprise as the mother smiles fondly at him. "You had been wearing the same colors and same shades for so long. We think you need to change that."

She digs into a bag and takes out a purple tunic in one hand and a pair of blue sweatpants. They look just about the right size for Rem.

"It's time for a little change."


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

…

"_Untitled #1 – ( )"_

Amanda sits in her chair, drumming her fingers on the table in thoughtful. Her carving project at hands – bandaged courtesy of Rem, again – is forgotten. She recalls back what Darwin had told her before he passed away a while back.

The year twenty-twelve… He'd said that the file had stopped gaining names or injury details at some point at the same year. What had happened that year that everything seemed to just turn one-eighty degree on that year?

She stands up, letting the carved wood – features are already defined and it's excitedly almost finished – and knife fall on the table and exits her bedroom. She searches the house for the newest member of the family.

It didn't take long for her to find him in the kitchen. Rem is wearing his new purple tunic and blue pants; they're just big enough for him. They look so off with Rem when he had been wearing white ever since she'd first met him, minus his scarf.

And the said scarf is still around his neck.

His entire arms and hands are completely covered with bandages once more, to completely wipe away the scars. His head are entirely wrapped with white bandages again too. Only the mouth, nostrils and eyes are left undisturbed.

He is clearly turned into a living mummy by her.

"Hey, Rem?" she calls out. He tilts his head, telling her he is listening while drying the dishes from dinner earlier. "What happened in twenty-twelve?" she asks him directly. His movements slow down before halting to a stop. He places the plate and towel down before looking up at the ceiling, thinking to himself. Then he turns around to face her.

_**"I do not clearly remember,"**_ he answers, a light sadness in his eyes yet relief at the same time. She is slowly accustoming to his newfound emotions but it seems Rem himself has yet to realize them. Amanda is confused at his answer and his tone. She opens her mouth to speak but he continues. _**"I do not dwell on the past too much. It hurts."**_

Luckily she's a fraction of a second too late, or else she might ask him why he didn't remember. It'll clearly cause a wound to reopen, especially after Darwin's passing. But at the same time, she feels proud of him for opening admitting he is hurting.

He is still healing, very slowly but healing nonetheless.

"Okay, I'm sorry for asking." Rem nods his head before continues drying the dishes, like he always did at The Forge. He always did the chores around the house, to the point where she had nothing to do. Her eyes linger at his back before she goes back to her bedroom.

She sits down in her chair once more, takes in a deep breath and pulls out her laptop that is usually neglected unless in use. She knows she is going to do a very deep and very long research. She might regret it that it is nothing big happened, or worse _nothing_ happened that caused the halt, but she is doing this for Rem's sake.

As soon as she opens up the search engine (_definitely_ not Internet Explorer), she already has over ten tabs opened, all have one thing in relation: year twenty-twelve.

.

"It's not very common of you to be very focused on the laptop screen," she hears Heather comments as she sits beside her at the table. "I thought the tables here are reserved for eating, not working."

"One of the teachers got angry at her when he found out she wasn't paying any attention in class," Rebecca comments with a snort. Fredrick hums in agreement since his mouth is a little too full to speak.

"Shut up, I need to do this," she mumbles back, eyes strain to the screen.

"What're you working on anyway?" Henry asks, leaning over her shoulder to look at her work. Finally, she sighs while slumps her shoulders. She leans in to his side to relax a bit.

"I need to find out what had happened back in twenty-twelve. Something must've happened that caused a change in Rem on that year." That seems to peak their interest.

"Why's that?" Henry asks.

"Darwin, the man who had been keeping eyes on Rem secretly, said that everything seemed to change in twenty-twelve. He suspected that was the year Rem embraced the name _Hnýtur Rembihnút_."

"What had you found out?" She sighs in dismay at that question.

"The Costa Concordia Shipwreck coincidentally a hundred years after the Titanic, the London Olympics, China named a new ruler, the Philippines Typhoon, the Transit of Venus, the Curiosity Rover successfully lands on Mars. It's also the year everyone thought the apocalypse about to happen."

"Maybe it's that last bit."

"Highly doubt it. There was absolute no relation with that and him, much like the rest." She sighs in dismay once more.

"Well, maybe whatever happened on that year that changed him wasn't recorded. You do remember Rem once had a tendency to be forgotten, right? When he saved a doll or something from a car accident and no one bat an eyelash about it?" Fredrick attempts with an unsure shrug.

Ah, yes; the days where she thought Rem was Death. That makes her remember how much she had changed, and how much Rem had changed, and how much their friendship had changed.

"Have you tried asking him?" Trevor asks, stuffing a broccoli into his mouth.

"He said he doesn't remember. And you know he doesn't like talking about his past."

"Oh."

"Maybe you shouldn't check on the big stuff," Henry suggests helpfully. "Maybe you should check the smaller events, like new pop artists, new albums or something."

"Oh God, there's a lot more things to do." She buries her face in her hands. She feels his arm wraps around her shoulders in comfort.

"You know you could stop, right?"

"I know, but I want to know more about him. That year seemed important."

"You've really couldn't keep your nose to yourself, can't you?" Rebecca comments, stealing a broccoli from her brother and puts it into her mouth, earning a stink eye from Trevor. "Always sticking it into someone's business."

"Like _you_ wouldn't do the same for Rem."

"Touché."

.

Amanda jumps in startle when her phone suddenly rings. She almost cuts her finger in the process. With a huff, she looks at the dialer and scowl.

"What do you want, _Ice Queen_?" she hisses as soon as she puts her phone to her ear, putting down her knife before she decides to throw it at the nearest wall.

"_Hear me out, Forresttess Grump. The podcast I listen to-"_

"You listen to podcast?"

"_Don't judge me, okay!? Anyway, the podcast I listen to speak about a topic that might interest you. They were gushing over an Icelandic band called… Cigar Ross or something. Look it up. It's spelled S-I-G-U-R space R-O-S."_

"Why should I?"

"_Just do it!"_

She raises an eyebrow at her insistent and so she did. The results are not much but they did come up pretty quick, as expected of the Internet. The band's name is _Sigur Rós_, a post-rock, shoegaze, ambient (the genre seems inconsistent) band from Iceland, formed in 1994 and had released seven albums so far.

"So, what am I looking for here?" she asks Heather through the phone as she scans the band members' face, taking note there is only three of them.

"_Look for the album __Valtari__." _She did as told, unintentionally looks up its background and how it is made. It is their sixth album, the last album to feature their keyboardist, the fourth member. It was released on twenty-third May of twenty-twelve.

'_It's the same year,' _she realizes. Then, she looks into the track listing. There are eight songs in total, excluding pre-order bonus tracks, but there is one track that stands out.

"_Rembihnútur,_" she whispers.

"_Check its lyrics." _She did as Heather tells her, typing furiously on the keyboard.

The lyrics are not official; the band is quite notorious with their vague lyrics, it seems. Nonetheless, they're good enough because two words stand out.

"_Hnýtur rembihnút__."_

"_I think we had found where Rem had gotten his name," _Heather tells her. _"It's on the same year, and that lyrics are literally his name."_

"Thanks Heather."

"_Anything for the Big Man. Tell him I say hi, alright?"_

"Alright."

.

"Is something wrong?" Linda asks when her daughter enters the living room, causing her husband to look up as well. Amanda is carrying her laptop in her hand before sitting down on the floor at their feet.

"I need to show Rem something," Amanda answers before turning towards the kitchen. "Rem!" she yells loud enough for the new member to hear. He came shortly after.

_**"You called me, Fawn?"**_

"Sit down, Rem." He raises an eyebrow at her. He did sit down, on the chair beside the married couple.

"Can you please turn off the TV for a moment?" Amanda asks her parents. Now it's their turn to raise an eyebrow at her but did so anyway. She plays with the laptop for a short moment before looking up at Rem with one final click.

At first there is a silence before ambient sound kicks in.

_'A song, possibly?'_ Linda thinks before the piano comes in next. The Hoffersons hear a light gasp, causing them to turn towards the source.

Rem has this look on his face, as if he remembering his past. The look on Vincent's face has said it well; they think it's not a good thing, after hearing learning Rem's past. He looks blanker that he ever was. His posture is rigid when the swelling bass enters in a loop. When the vocalist starts to sing, he closes his eyes.

Linda couldn't tell what the vocalist is singing. He is singing in a foreign language. She did catch something among the lyrics but she is a little too preoccupied by the song itself as it goes into a little crescendo.

After numerous ambient beats, the song dies down. Rem slowly opens his eyes.

"_**Now I remember what had happened in that year." **_Amanda perks up and her curiosity peaks. Now she will have answers; not all of them but enough to satisfy her thirst. She had been waiting for this for quite a while now. Her long research may be probably pays off.

"_**That year, I came with a resolution, but not a good one. That year, it was the peak of my self-hatred. I hated myself so much that I stop trying to end my life. I had realized that suicide was too… easy."**_

She doesn't like sound of that.

"_**Instead, I start living, not to enjoy my life, but waste it away, in pain, in self-hatred, in misery. That name, though I do not remember nor know how, I came across it as I had these thoughts. And I used it as a reminder of my intent."**_

That is not what she expects at the reveal of the reason behind his name.

"_**Over the years though, I had forgotten about it; forgotten the meaning behind my name. I just continue living with no aim, but now I remember."**_

Amanda doesn't know what to do or to think about the revelation. Glancing over she could tell even her parents are stumped (Linda had quietly filled in on Vincent).

She, and almost everyone else she and Rem know, knows that Rem had changed in twenty-twelve. She thought it was a change for the good, because Rem had embraced a name and his… attempts had been entirely stopped.

She did not expect that the reason of his change, the reason of his name, is that he had given up, that he had given up to live and just stay alive in misery. He had given up in a different way; for the better or worse, she doesn't know.

"You should have a new name."

Everyone in the room turns their eyes to Linda, who had spoken up after a moment of intense silence.

"You should have a new name, to forget that part of you."

"_**No," **_Rem answers immediately as he looks straight into her mother's eyes. _** "I do not want a new name. Besides, my name now has a new meaning, and I intend to keep it."**_

Amanda slowly raises an eyebrow, wondering what does he means by that before it hits her. She could feel a smile teasing on her lips.

"_**Is there anything else where I am in need?"**_

"No… No, that's it."

"_**Alright, I will be baking muffins."**_

"Yes!" Linda cheers, throwing a fist into the air startling her husband.

"By the way, Heather said hi."

"_**Hello as well." **_She lets her eyes lingers on his back until he enters the kitchen and away from her view.

"YES!" her father cheers even louder than her mother while throwing both of his fists into the air, startling her a bit. Linda had probably filled him in on the muffins. She smiles, sharing her enthusiasm with her father (though not on his level) and her mind wanders back to him recalling about the new meaning about his current name.

Rem is still hard to read, but it's getting easier to read between the lines. _Hnýtur Rembihnút_ usedto mean living in misery, in pain and self-hated; he had said it himself.

Now, _Hnýtur Rembihnút _means simply _Rem_.

* * *

**I kinda gave up halfway through with this chapter, it kinda became redundant but I will put it in anyway.**


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

…

"_Untitled #2 – ( )"_

The bell on the door jingles as the group enters the restaurant. They talk among themselves as they instinctively head over their usual table. Everything is seems to be at its usual thing, though Amanda could tell a few things are off than their usual road.

All eyes are secretly on Heather though. Her eyes are downcast and head bow a little. She didn't realize the looks she receives. Maybe she already did but had gotten used to it, from all the countless times before, and didn't bother to point it out.

Henry seems skittish, stuttering a lot more than usual. Half of the time he's not meeting her eyes. She knows he's hiding something, something she knows she bounds to find out, either he reveals it to her or she beat it out of him.

"Oh by the way, have you found out about Rem's name?" Heather asks, looking expectantly at her. The downcast in her eyes lighten a bit at the topic.

"I wish we hadn't." The light in her eyes die a little.

"Not good?" she asks and Amanda shakes her head. "Oh." Heather's shoulders sag and the light in her eyes dies completely.

"Not to worry; it ended on a good term," Amanda replies quickly, trying to make the situation lighter. Heather is already sad enough about today, she doesn't need another reason to be even sadder. She smiles but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Now it's Amanda's turn to sag her shoulders.

Then, she sees a large body of white approaching at her peripheral vision. Already knowing who he is, she didn't bother to look up to greet him.

"Afternoon, Rem. You're enjoying your freedom from the kitchen?" she teases him, letting go of the previous topic. From the corner of her eyes he narrows his eyes at her, remembering the time he was forced to lock up in the kitchen (most of the time) due him being a mummy, by _her_.

"Wow…" Amanda hears a whisper of awe. She looks over at the source and raises her eyebrows in surprise.

Gone the downcast look, Heather has a stunned look in her eyes as she stares at Rem, and Rebecca is also doing the same thing. Amanda smirks. She knows why they're staring before looking over at Rem, who raises an eyebrow and awkwardly waves a hand hello with the other hand wraps around a broom.

He had finally taking off the bandages for good. The scars on and around his face had finally disappeared, so does the scars on his arms under those sleeves. She had used up all of the ointments, really using up the last dab of it.

Rem leaves the Glasgow smile unattended. He told her that it is the start of something new. It is the first scar he had ever received involving her; that and the wound on his abdomen, another scar he refused her to heal. The smirk on her lips lessens.

Rem still incorporates his scars to his life.

"_**It seems I would have to get used to all the looks I will be receiving," **_Rem comments lightly, looking at the two girls who still openly staring at him. The boys are faring well compared to them, though Amanda could still catch them taking a glance at him. _**"Funny really, no matter if I have scars or not I would still get all the stares."**_

Just then, Cathy bounds over and greets them with a wide smile. Rem gives her a small glance and she instantly gives him the usual pencil and notepad. Amanda could see Cathy's eyes are glued to his face as well, looking slightly awed.

"You do know I'm here, right? I can translate what you're saying if you have anything to say to them," Amanda comments when Rem starts scribbling down on the notepad.

"_**That you can, but at this very moment I do not need another person to stand me and the intended person," **_Rem answers. She gives him a confused look but he didn't elaborate. Instead, he steps closer to Heather and waves a hand on her face, effectively snapping her from her awed daze. The brunette looks embarrassed for a moment before Rem shows her the notepad. From her angle, Amanda could clearly read what it says.

"_**How are you feeling?" **_Rem writes. Heather looks confused for a second before a sad smile appears on her lips.

"I'm… faring well," she replies back, shrugging hesitantly.

'_Ahh,' _Amanda thinks once the realization struck. _'He caught wind that Dagur's leaving today.' _She spares Rem a look from the corner of her eyes. _'I haven't realized you can be intimate at times, Rem. That's quite a development.'_

"Don't worry too much about it," Heather tries to reassure him. "It's… not the first time… I'll be fine, really." Rem looks a little defeated at her attempt to avoid the subject.

Everyone knows Heather will not be okay whenever Derrick leaves for quite a while, and she always tries to hide it. Her stubbornness is almost on par with Henry's, and that's saying a lot as Amanda had gotten to see just how _stubborn _Henry can really be.

"_**I wish you well," **_Rem writes next. The way he wrote it is as if he is feeling awkward, another new thing about Rem. Despite that, Heather gives him a genuine smile.

"I will," she replies. "Oh, and Dagur sent his regards." Rem nods his head in reply. He gives the notepad and pencil to Cathy, who's still staring at him. He gently pats her shoulder before walks away from their table, mindlessly running his hand through his hair.

"He has changed, has he?" Heather asks, looking at his disappearing back.

"He is; slowly, but surely," she confirms.

"You know, now that he's clean, never have I found him so… appealing."

"Fair warning, Heather; he's not in the mood for having a partner."

"I-I am not- Why would you ever think like that you son of a bi-"

.

There is something about today that he feels will be more than usual. He doesn't know what it is, but he feels like something is going to happen today, more entertaining than it is tragic.

It starts as the usual: he's enjoying sweeping the area instead of confining in the kitchen most of his worktime now that he is no longer mummified, Amanda and her friends are at their usual table, Gustav and Madonna are secretly fluttering their eyelashes at each other and Gregory snoring somewhere he doesn't want to know where.

It's pretty usual, and casual, until Henry comes back from the washroom when a metallic spoon hits the tiled floor. It sounds quite louder than usual, as if it's for a cliché plotline or something.

Looking at the source he sees a girl who seems to be around Amanda's age, probably older. Her fade blue eyes are very much glued onto the form of the redhead. She also has her mouth hangs open and her cheeks are pretty red. She abruptly stands up and beeline for him, her dark green dress bellows by her wide steps.

He raises an eyebrow in surprise when the girl quite literally throws herself into his chest, earning her a startled yelp. He watches the interaction for a bit, seeing how confused Henry at his new companion and how _attracted_ the girl is to him.

Then he hears a very distinct growl. He looks at the source with another raised eyebrow.

Amanda is openly baring her teeth, gritting them together as she glaring _death_ at Henry and the new girl, more on the new girl than Henry. Veins are popping on her temple, flowing angrily underneath the skin. He is silently impressive at how _loud_ the growl is, especially since he is standing quite a far away from her.

And holy hell she looks like an _animal_.

And then, as he watches her _death_ gripping the fork in her hand (he's pretty sure she had _bent_ the metal spoon with just her brute force), he realizes she is _jealous_.

She is _oh so very_ _jealous_.

And he is admittedly too surprise to take advantage of the moment. Because never had he ever live to witness the day where Amanda is truly, _truly_, jealous.

She stabs the food on her plate with the fork with unimaginable amount of force, the rest of the food on the table jumps in the air, along with her friends in their seat, who slowly and carefully inches away from her.

She shoves whatever her food is into her mouth, still growling while her eyes are still glaring daggers at Henry and the curly haired girl. She even bares her teeth as she chews her food. He looks back at Henry and the other girl, seeing what is their progress right now.

The girl has her arms wrapped around Henry's arm and plants her chin on his shoulder, looking up at him. Henry is looking very awkward at the situation, trying not to look directly into her eyes though he could tell the boy is trying to release himself from the girl's tight clutch.

The growling increases another decibel and he looks over at Amanda, who just gets up from her seat. Instead of walking over them (and probably give each of them a beating, more on the girl than Henry), she heads in a different direction. She's still growling as she walks past him and didn't even spare him a glance.

He watches her go before turning his attention back to Henry and the girl, who has a distinct curly red hair and very distinct Scottish accent. He could see Henry tries to politely tell the girl to release him but she's just so _smitten_, still clutching his arm with iron grip and ogles up at him. He could almost see hearts in her eyes.

Bless the boy's heart. Henry is truly a one in a million for being polite to anyone and everyone, even if one of them is currently clutching to him. Fortunately she is not one of those spoiled, snobbish girls who think anyone would kiss their heels. This girl is _truly_ smitten with Henry; admittedly very blunt and pretty rough but so does Amanda.

Here he realizes and thinks to himself, does Henry has a type? Is it blonde, wavy long hair and bright blue eyes? Or is it blunt, rough, straight to the point kind of girl?

Then, he throws that thought out the window, because it is none of his concern to think about Henry's type. All that is important is that he's with Amanda right now, who is clearly very angry and very jealous and nowhere to be found at the moment.

The said girl suddenly storms past him. And he has to double take at what she is currently holding tightly in her right hand. Her friends and half of the customers and even Henry see it too, except for the clinging girl it seems.

He immediately sprints over to her when she starts raising the cleaver as she storms to the clingy girl.

.

The curly haired girl apologizes once everything had been explained. Amanda has her arms wrap around Henry's, very protectively. She still glares at the other girl unapologetically. He shakes his head, still mildly in disbelief.

She's a menace when she's jealous, and very protective, and very animalistic, and extremely dangerous (kill on sight). He wonders if Henry knows this side of her the whole time, because he admits it really surprises him.

And if one looks carefully, the curly haired girl is still pretty shaken, from the bloody murder and thrashes Amanda showed earlier as he restrained her. He confesses that it took quite a bit of effort of holding her down. She seems a little stronger when she's jealous.

Despite having backed down or still quite scared of Amanda, the curly haired girl still has her eyes on Henry, still awestruck, still infatuated. There's also sadness over loss chance.

Who could blame her? From the way Amanda reacted when Henry returned a while ago had already said much. He wouldn't be surprised if more girls had thrown themselves at Henry's feet more than boys at Amanda's. They probably had. Maybe he just didn't pay attention to it.

Or maybe they're too scared of Amanda. Right now was a perfect example of why they shouldn't throw themselves at her boyfriend's feet. A murder is a very high chance of happening.

The Scottish, curly haired girl decides to leave the restaurant instead of finishing her meal, probably to get away from the couple. The said couple had returned back to their seats, earning teases from her friends.

Amanda and Henry then seem to be arguing quietly to each other. He's too far away from them to hear the argument, but from the way Amanda pouts and Henry smiles warmly, it is pretty lighthearted. Henry says something as he pries Amanda off of him and begins to stand up, facing her. He raises an eyebrow in curiosity.

Both eyebrows then quickly shoot up when Henry slowly gets down on one knee.

.

When Linda hears the front door swings open, she's already expects a pair of feet entering. She turns around on her sofa, beside her husband, to greet the pair but only finds Rem alone.

"Hey, Rem. Where's Astrid?"

"_**She and Pencil are having a moment. Pencil proposed."**_

"REALLY!?"

"_**Yes."**_


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

…

"_Untitled #3 – ( )"_

"Rem! You're ready yet!? It's getting late!" Amanda yells impatiently up from the bottom of the stairs, just as the man himself walks down with a frown.

"_**There is no need for you to yell from downstairs, Fawn. If you really want to know, you should have knocked on my door," **_Rem replies as he adjusts his usual white coat that gains her attention.

"Going back in your all-white?" she asks, a little displeased that he had gotten back to wearing his all white clothes, apart for the usual, always present, green scarf.

"_**I have yet to be comfortable in the buttoned down grey clothes and black pants your father bought." **_She narrows her eyes at him, not entirely believing him but did not fault him at the same time.

"Fine, then. Come on, Mom and Dad already waiting outside."

"_**Have you made sure to check everything has locked down?" **_Rem asks as he takes final few steps of the stairs and stands next to her.

"Yes, I did," she answers as she rolls her eyes. "I had been living in this house far longer than you, you know?"

"_**Just to make sure your mind is not just on a certain wood." **_She didn't hold back on the punch on his side. He flinches and glares at her through his glasses. _**"That is a new spot for abuse," **_he comments, rubbing his bruising side.

"Just to put you in your place," she replies back, smiling toothily at him.

"_**You still have yet to tell me this surprise you and your family are planning."**_

"What's a surprise if it's not a surprise?"

"_**I am not one for surprise, Fawn."**_

"Deal with it. Now come on, Mom and Dad are waiting in outside already." She turns around and heads for the front door, with Rem at her heels.

"There you two are? What took you so long?" her father asks, just as he unlocks the car.

"Rem has an existential crisis on which clothes to wear, so he went to the usual or else his mind explodes." Too bad she's turning away from Rem to see his reaction. All she hears is him sighing and locking the front door using the spare key they made for him.

"Hurry up, or else we're missing the concert!" her mother urges them. Amanda rolls her eyes at her mother's excitement but didn't comment on the spoiler.

"Alright, come on, Rem. You're wasting so much time already." She heads over to the car, where her mother and father had already climbed into the seats. When she didn't hear his footsteps behind her, she looks back at him with a confused frown.

Rem hasn't budged from the front door. He is staring intently at the car.

"Rem?" she calls out but he didn't respond, so she approaches him. "Rem? Is something wrong?"

"_**When were you going to tell me we are going for a car ride?" **_he asks. His eyes are still glued to the family car.

"Well we're going to the next city which is a few hours of drive from Berk," she answers, a little concern at his sudden question and hesitance. He fidgets with his green scarf and takes a deep breath before releasing a long sigh.

"Is something the matter?" Amanda hears her father asking when they're still standing and hasn't climbed in yet.

"_**I have a sense of foreboding, like something bad is about to happen." **_Amanda is holding a tired sigh at his answer. She doesn't like the fact that Rem believes in such superstition, that he _still_ believes in it; in fact, she despises it.

But seeing how visibly in discomfort Rem is makes her think he is truly believes in this foreboding he is sensing. She still doesn't agree to it, nor understand it either.

"It's probably nothing, Rem," she tries to reassure him. It's half-hearted and she knows it but at least she tries. Rem rolls his shoulders before nodding slowly. "Let's go; we're getting late already."

"_**Should I also mention that I had never seen your family vehicle before?"**_

"… You know, you do have a point. There are times where the car just… doesn't exist."

.

"_**Why do I have to come along to this concert?" **_Rem asks shifting in his seat, right behind Vincent. Being the biggest one out of the four in the vehicle, he looks quite discomfort at the small space but he didn't complain since.

"You're living with us now. Wherever we go, you go also."

"_**Does this mean I will also have to be there to witness your consummation?" **_She lands a jab at his shoulder and glares at him, blushing lightly.

"They don't do that in this day and age anymore."

"_**Consummation?"**_

"No."

"_**Masturb-" **_She lands a harder jab, glaring him even harder. He returns the glare, though considerably less heat than hers.

"You're infuriating," she hisses at him.

"_**Who would I be if I am not?" **_he retorts, now rubbing his elbow. Amanda sniffs.

"Probably a better person."

"_**You monster." **_She snorts. _**"Do not mock me; you know very well it is a fact."**_

"How are you feeling back there, Rem?" her father suddenly asks, looking back just for a second before turning back to the road. Amanda looks at the white clad man to see his answer.

"_**Your car is a little too small for my frame but beside that, I am well enough."**_

"He says he okay."

"_**You have yet to tell me where we are going. All I know we are going to a concert in the next city, a few hours of drive."**_

"I'll tell you what it is as long as you stop whining," Amanda replies as she takes out the ticket from her pocket and gives it to him. Thankfully it's not scrunched up. He inspects the ticket for a short moment before his eyebrows raise up his forehead.

"_**I had not realized we are going to their concert," **_Rem comments as he hands the ticket back to her.

"Mom had managed to book four seats a week ago just before they sold out. She's pretty insistent on seeing them live."

"It's a once in a lifetime chance," Linda buds in, twisting from the front seat to give Rem a big smile. "They inspired your name too, so there's that."

"_**To be frank I had never really paid much attention to the band, never really listen to their songs beside the one where I got my name from." **_Rem shifts in his seat some more. _**"I do not mind listen to them, though."**_

Her mother looks satisfied at the answer before turning back to her husband to tell him what Rem had said.

"_**I should also state how rare it is for me to join in a car ride since everything in the city is seems to be in a walking distance. The architectures are a lazy bunch of people."**_

"Well, it is Berk. We can be pretty lazy at times."

"_**Most of the times all of you are pretty stubborn."**_ Amanda rolls her eyes before turning away and looks out through the window, watching the many buildings, big and small but mostly small, of Berk pass by. They're approaching the edge of the city. Her parents are having a passionate conversation up front that she doesn't pay any attention to.

She looks down to her left hand. Her eyes instantly draw to the ring finger. She thumbs the golden metal band around the finger and smiles fondly. She feels a tap on her shoulder. She looks up in inquisitive at Rem.

"_**Have I ever congratulated you on your early engagement?"**_

"You did, after you sassed me as soon as I got home."

"_**Have I also mention how surprise I am how early Pencil propose to you, other than the fact that he propose to you out of all people." **_She gives him a mild glare before letting a fond smile plays on her lips.

"We've been childhood friends. Mom and Dad had been betting that we're ending up together in the end."

"_**I would not be surprised if the entire population of the city had betted in as well." **_She sighs and rolls her eyes at his words before they fall back on the golden band. The fond smile returns and tries not to think of the fact that _half_ of Berk's population had join the bet.

"It'll take a while for me to get used to the new weight, but it's not uncomfortable," she comments to Rem, thumbing the ring. "Hiccup confessed he had been saving for a while for it, which means he had been thinking of proposing to me for a long time now.

"_**His proposal must have been unexpected, especially this early."**_

"Isn't proposal supposed to be a surprise anyway?"

"_**I have no idea; I never had indulged myself into that topic," **_he replies back, shrugging his shoulders. She starts to frown when Rem shifts once more and notices something.

"Rem, you look a little tense." Rem didn't answer immediately. His hand reaches up and plays with the green scarf around his neck for a moment.

"_**I have multiple bad experiences when it comes to vehicles," **_he answers after a moment of silence. She stares at him in confusion.

"Last time, you weren't complaining anything about it. You know, with Hiccup and his parents a while ago? You look fine even." Rem shifts more. She now realizes it is a sign of discomfort that is more than just the tight space.

"_**His death had brought back too many unpleasant memories."**_

And suddenly, she immediately understands his feelings. She needs to remind herself that he is still recovering, still adapting to change, especially after Darwin's unexpected death. After all, it's almost two months since he moved in. Reaching over, she grabs his sleeve and smiles reassuringly at him.

"Everything's going to be fine. None of us had gotten into an accident before," she tries to reassure him, but he doesn't seem to be convinced.

"_**The foreboding has yet to leave."**_

Amanda knows she's getting tired of his belief on such superstition, _really tired_ of it. She's getting more tired of finding a way for him to _not_ believe in it. He's holding onto it very tightly.

Well, he had been holding onto such belief for a very long time. Letting go of it won't be as easy as one evening.

'_Change is not easy.'_

She needs to remind herself that. Rem constantly says that, and her mother often reminds her of it. She must not need to put more effort into convincing him; she just needs to be more patient.

Sadly, Amanda Hofferson and 'patience' do not do well with each other.

"Even if something goes wrong, we'll be here for you," she replies instead, tightening her grip on his sleeves. His shoulders slump slightly, but he still has tension. She decides to change the subject, hoping it'll help him a bit or something. "I remember when I saw you grabbed a doll or something from a crashed car on the news. No one seemed to bat an eyelash on it."

"_**Lazy plotline probably."**_

Amanda stares at him mutely, silently asking for clarification. He merely shrugs his shoulders before looking away and out the window, effectively putting a stop on the conversation.

She sighs in defeat (a rare case, she knows this herself) and lets go of his sleeve. Between the two of them, he rarely stops the conversation; she doesn't recall if he ever _had_. It must've bugging him quite deeply to do so.

So she let it go, for now. She thumbs her ring again and looks out the window. Her mood had soured up by Rem; not really _by_ Rem, but by his belief. She needs to find a way for him to let go of such stupid thing.

Out of sudden, she feels something slams hard into her chest. She has a split second to see Rem's hand on her chest before a thunderous impact hits them and gravity shifts sideways.

Then, everything goes black.


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

…

"_Untitled #4 – ( )"_

Something is beeping, or at least, she thinks its beeping. It sounds so muffled. She can't entirely tell. There is a bright light shining, too bright. Her eyes… no, not just her eyes; her entire body feels heavy. She couldn't even lift a finger.

What… happened?

Something… Something had happened. Her mind is cloudy; she couldn't think straight, but she knows something had happened (even a dumbass knows something had happened that led them to not be able to move a finger).

The beeping sound seems getting clearer, and her mind less cloudy. She can finally move her eyes, although very slightly. Nonetheless, she forces them open, and immediately flinches at the bright light above her. It takes a while for her eyes to adjust to the brightness, and she is greeted with an unfamiliar ceiling.

She internally frowns in confusion since she still couldn't move a muscle, yet. She doesn't recognize the ceiling, though she has a very vague memory about it. Something in her peripheral vision catches her attention. She rolls her eyes to it. Finally, she is able to frown.

Is that… and IV bag? What had actually happened? Why is there an IV bag hanging above her? She rolls her eyes more, away from the bag and finds the source of the beeping: a vital sign monitor.

She's in a hospital. What happened?

She slowly gains back her senses, and she can finally lift a finger but currently has no use for a single finger.

She hears voices, two probably. She recognizes one but not the other. From the corner of her eyes (she still has her head turned) she sees a pair of people walk into the room and she quickly recognizes the auburn hair.

"Hi…cup…?"

Henry instantly looks at her and the person beside him – a nurse probably – quickly leaves the room.

"Astrid!" He sprints to her side, getting down on his knees and holds her left hand. Thankfully he's at the side closer to the vital signal, so she doesn't have to turn her head.

His eyes are glassy, deep bags under his eyes and his cheeks are sunken. He looks like he hadn't slept a wink, but the relief on his face are achingly evident.

"Astrid, you're finally, _finally_ awake. I thought you wouldn't open your eyes." Henry looks like he's about to cry as he delicately holds her face in his other hand. "It felt so long when you were out."

She narrows her eyes when she catches something from what Henry had said.

"How… long…?"

"How long you'd been out?" he finishes her sentence. She nods her head the best she can. "Over two weeks, you've been out for more than two weeks. The crash was bad."

"Crash…?"

"Don't you remember?" Amanda closes her eyes, trying to remember back what had happened that led her here. There is _something _there, but she couldn't bring it out.

"I… No…" she answers with a weak sigh.

"Let me see my fu-"

_**SQUEAK!**_

"-ng daughter. Stay out my way, bi-"

She hears a very distinct and very dirty mouth of her mother approaching near. Henry straightens and she slowly turns her head to face the doorway.

She feels really cold when she sees Veronika, with Gerard beside her, wheels her mother into the room in a wheelchair. Linda's face is full of concern.

"Astrid, honey?" Linda calls out, wheeling to the side of the bed, closer to her. She tries to reply back but seeing her mother now bound in the wheelchair left her speechless. Her mind flashes to Henry and her eyes dart to Linda's legs. They're hidden by the hospital gown but they're there.

Amanda has a sinking feeling that her mother will be bound to wheelchair forever.

"Amanda, sweetheart? Are you okay? Talk to me, baby." Linda grows concern and lays a hand on her cheek. She looks all around her face, noticing there are significantly more lines around her face and the stitches above her eyebrows. Then, she scans her eyes and notices how dimmed they look. The last time they look like that was when-

Something clicks in her mind. If her mother's here, then…

"D…Dad?"

The room suddenly goes deadly quiet. She feels both of her hand squeezed, by Henry and her mother.

"Astrid… Amanda, darling… I'm sorry. Your father couldn't make it."

Her entire body went stiff. Surely her mother might say it wrong, or maybe she misheard it. But from the solemn look she receives, she doubts her mother is wrong.

She forces herself to sit up, earning a concerning look from everyone.

"Astrid, please-"

"What had actually happened?" she demands, cutting Henry mid-sentence who has a hand on her back, with her voice coarse and dry. "What _happened_?" she asks once more when no one answered her, forcing her words through her dry throat. Her mother sighs as her eyes cast down.

"Someone crashed into us, a T-bone they call it, right from the left side."

'_Rem was in direct sight of the car.' _So that's why he put his hands on her. Her body warms up at the thought that Rem's initial instinct was her safety even though he was literally in the direct line of danger. The way how he quickly reacted seems like he was expecting the crash.

She refuses to believe Rem's foreboding feeling. It's just a goddamned coincidence.

"Witness said the four of us were a good ten feet away from the crash. Rem was the only one conscious, and stayed conscious the entire way to the hospital until they sedated him."

"So… He pulled us out while he himself injured?"

"Blood trails said so. He lost his left arm from the crash." Amanda swallows no matter how dry her throat is. Rem had been through so much pain to lose an arm while at the same time pulled them out from the crash.

Is the pain equivalent to the amount of emotional pain he had been suffering throughout most of his life? She always reminds herself that Rem's life had been mostly tragic, but the last thought seems like years ago.

"Where is he?"

"They sedated him. He was restless, and also to put him in bed. The doctors said he is very notorious on escaping."

'_I had completely forgotten that Rem had constantly gotten himself into the hospitals many times.' _She couldn't even remember the last time Rem sustained an injury that hospitalizes him.

Suddenly, a nurse bursts into the room and frantically whispers to the doctor. The doctor sighs exasperatedly.

"Is something wrong?" her mother asks feeling a little worried.

"It's Rem. He escaped," the doctor answers as the nurse hurries away. Amanda doesn't feel good about this situation.

"Escaped? I thought you had sedated him," Veronika comments with a frown.

"We did," the doctor replies as a matter of fact. "He must've quickly gotten himself out before a nurse manages to put another dose put in. I still don't know how he managed to escape with all the doctors and nurses around," he murmurs the last bit quietly to himself.

"Well, if he'd escaped, where would he go?" Henry asks in confusion, which spreads to everyone in the room.

"He could probably have gone home but… why?" Linda asks no one in particular.

"Stoick." Veronika looks at her husband who immediately stands up from the chair.

"I'm on it." The large man is already bolting for the exit and is gone in matter of seconds. Everyone watches him go before returning back to their own muses, mainly over the missing Rem.

Her mind is still reeling. She is quite a bit overloaded with heavy information. They had helped her distracting from _one thing_ but now they are becoming unbearable to hold in. So many things happened at once. Her family gotten into an accident, she in a coma, Rem losing an arm _and _missing, her mother… _crippled_ and dad… dad is…

She takes in a deep shaky breath.

"Astrid? Are you okay?" Henry asks, placing his hand on hers. She gives out a broken chuckle as her eyes start to water.

"We had gotten into a terrible accident, I had been in a coma for two weeks, my mom is permanently crippled from the waist down, Rem is missing and my dad is…" she sobs, halting her sentence. She bites her lips hard as she forces the words through her teeth.

"Gone… I'm far from okay, Hiccup. I am _far _from okay." The hand tightens, almost painfully but definitely in regret.

"I'm… sorry for asking."

Her defense mechanism is running high right now, she _forces _it to. She could feel the death of her father is sinking it, but she is starting to resist.

She can mourn her father later. Right now, she has another person to look for. She doesn't want to have two people to mourn. She shakes her head to clear her mind, though it would take her a while to clear things up to properly think.

Veronika's phone suddenly starts to ring. She picks it up immediately. Gerard's voice could be heard through the phone as she holds it to her ear.

"Stoick said he's not home. Everything's locked and untouched, it seems." Amanda could feel everyone is confused.

'_If he's not home, where could he be?'_

"Try asking Gobber. Maybe he's at The Forge, for whatever reason," Linda suggests even though she herself is unsure of the decision, because why would he be at the restaurant? Probably just for spite, he tends to do that.

Valka nods and immediately starts making the call.

The thought of her father is edging in from the corner of her thought. She frowns at it and squeezes Henry's hand for comfort. When he squeezes back, he chased the thought away and she feels mildly relieved.

She needs not to think about that for the moment, _please_.

"He's not at the restaurant either," Veronika says as she puts away her phone, worry is written all over her face. Amanda herself is getting worried; she could feel her heart pounds painfully in her chest. Her mind is now running rampant.

'_He's not at home and he's not at Gobber's. Could it be that he…? What if… What if… He and dad…'_

She slaps her hand onto her face and grits her teeth, hard.

'_Stop,' _she silently scolds herself. She runs her hand down her face and glares past everyone in the room – who gazes at her in surprise and confusion – and at the opposing wall. _'He is not… He is not… He is not like dad.' _She takes a deep breath and releases it.

"Call Heather. She knows the exact location for his old cottage he used to live in." Henry quickly takes his phone and dials her number.

Rem had never brought up the old cottage when he lived with them. If he ever did, she couldn't recall any. He's probably happy with the new home.

He wouldn't call it happy. He would never. In his words, he would say that he is content.

"Heather wants to talk to you," Henry says as he passes the phone to her.

"_Astrid! You're alive!" _Heather screams from the phone.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Heather," she replies back with the usual tone.

"_You don't know how absolutely worried we were when Hiccup called us you'd gotten into an accident. Everyone had been constantly visiting you since."_

"Sorry for worrying you all."

"_And you have the audacity to wake up when I'm not there!?"_

"Geez, sorry for the disappointment." She rolls her eyes. "I need something from you."

"_Ask away, anything."_

"Can you go to Rem's old cottage right now?"

"_Has something happened?"_

"Rem's missing. He's escaped from the hospital and he's not home or at The Forge."

'_Nothing bad had happened to him. He is not like dad. He's just… missing," _Amanda reminds herself so she wouldn't get overwhelm with emotions once more.

"He could probably go back to the cottage but I'm not sure myself."

"_I'm already on the way." _She hears some shuffling before some stomping from the other side of the phone. And then, she hears a door slams. _"I've… heard what happened… to your dad," _Heather says between quick pants.

"I don't want to talk about it right now." She didn't mean to snap at Heather, but she _really_ needs not to think about it. "Let's focus on Rem for now."

"…_Okay,"_ Heather replies. There is a silence between them beside Heather's pants and quick stomping feet. Then, she hears Heather starts to slow down. _"I'm here. The place looks untouched for a long time, Astrid."_

"Check inside."

"_Okay." _Amanda hears the door creaks open, unlock, and then some shuffling. _"It's empty. He's not here, Astrid."_

"Are you sure? Have you checked the entire place out?"

"_I did."_

"Check again!"

"_Astrid, there's nothing here! There are only four walls, a roof and a door and nothing else! He couldn't hide anywhere else."_

She bites her lips from snapping back at Heather. She was hoping for something else. She couldn't even ask Heather to search the floor for a trap door, because Rem's old cottage doesn't even have a floor.

"Sorry…"

"_It's fine. You're through a lot in a single time."_

"Thanks for helping out, Heather."

"_Always." _She ends the call and weakly hands the phone back to Henry.

"He's not there," she tells everyone in the room after releasing a defeated sigh.

Rem is officially missing.

He couldn't have gone far. His injury will definitely hinder him, slowing him down. And his figure is easily identified.

Why would he be gone now? The last time he went missing was when he thought he had hurt her by revealing the reason behind her uncle's death. Could it be that he thought.

"Dad's… gone…" The words feel poisonous to her tongue but it hits her with a realization and looks up to her mother, who returns the look back at her.

They both know why Rem is missing.

"Dad's… gone…"


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50

…

"_Untitled #5 – ( )"_

It doesn't take long for her to spot her bag from the conveyer belt; there aren't that many bags on it to begin with. This country is probably the least famous of South East Asia, and its recent controversy isn't helping its popularity. It's not really a tourist attraction, from her research, though it's trying too hard to be one.

She stands out from the crowd, for being tall and blonde in a crowd of local brunettes. She can only spot a few groups of people who share the same characteristics as hers. She highly doubts they're local and just some passerby.

She picks up her bag – she's quite a light traveler, something she picked up from Henry – and follows the signs that lead her to the exit. The airport isn't that big, though it's still quite bigger than Berk's. At the same time, she needs to keep her eyes sharp.

She had met someone thought the internet, someone who knows. He's waiting for her right here in this country. It's a high risk to trust someone on the internet, but… It's been quite a while. She's getting desperate. She's scrapping the bottom of the barrel at this point.

Just as Amanda descends the escalator she spots him, and he is holding a sign that has her name written it, making him stand out from the crown. She approaches him and he lowers down the sign.

"Amanda Hofferson?" the person, who is also a brunette like many around here and wears a pair of glasses, asks when Amanda approached him, with a relative native accent in his voice. She offers a handshake but he opts to put his hand on his chest instead. "Welcome to Brunei Darussalam. This is the first time we've ever met in person."

"You look a lot older than your pic, RJ."

"I get that a lot. Come on; time's a-wasting or my wife wouldn't stop whining," he urges her to follow him out of the airport, tearing the sign apart and put it into a rubbish bin at the same time. For a young man – barely her age, even – he sure walks pretty fast, almost making her jog.

He leads her to the car lot and to an ancient model of a Toyota brand. She doesn't know the model name; she doesn't spend any time to teach herself some car breeds. Though to be frank, it stands out a lot from the sea of cars.

Amanda's sensing a theme here.

"Jump in," he urges as he unlocks the car. He enters his car with Amanda at the passenger seat which is on the left side of the car. It throws her off a little bit. When he starts the engine, it _roars_ to life. She tries not to look frantic as she buckles her seat belt.

"So when did you found him?" Amanda asks straight to the point as RJ reverses the car out from the parking spot.

"Not that long ago; about a week," He answers after he puts the shift into first gear and revs the engine. "I found him walking down the road in the middle of the night under the heavy rain. It's not that often I find pity for someone, so I brought him to my home and let him stay for a while."

"How is he?" she could help but asks in concern. Rem could return back to his old habits, habits of injuring, mainly accidental than self-inflicted.

"He's mute, down an arm and he's smiling forever. I think he's blind on one eye but I'm not too sure," RJ answers nonchalantly as they enters the highway. He starts to speed up the car. When she sighs in relief, she catches him giving her a questioning side glance before returning back to the road.

"He's been like that for a while now. And yes, he's blind on the left side."

"Sucks to be him."

She gives him a dirty look. He shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Sorry. Dark sense of humor and lack of empathy are not a good combination for social interaction."

They stop at a red light. The car is filled with silence beside the engine. The tension is getting mildly awkward, though she is feeling a little bit of familiar feelings with it. RJ's silence reminds her quite a bit of Rem.

She could imagine they interact with each other in silence. They could communicate through their eyes, though not as unique as hers.

"You said you found him walking in the rain?"

"Yes."

"Did he catch a cold?"

"Probably," he shrugs his shoulders again. "If he does, he doesn't indicate anything about it. The man's mute both in mouth and mind." Amanda sighs in relief, glad that Rem hasn't changed at all. The silence returns once more.

"How long till we get there?" she asks a little impatiently, glaring at the red light and daring for it to turn green.

"It's only an hour drive; this is a small country after all. I can put it down to ten minutes if requested."

"Please do. Rem has tendencies to disappear at any given moment. One of them is right now."

"Sure, just don't panic when we have the cops on our tail."

As soon as the light turns green RJ hits the pedal to the metal, sending the unexpected blonde into her seat even further. She hears the tires screech and the engine roars even louder. She tightens her seat belt, slightly fearing for her life.

"Rem, huh? For someone who is blind in one eye, it's a little ironic to be called something akin to Rapid Eye Movement."

"It's a nickname, short for _Hnýtur rembihnút_. And I only know now that there's an Anime character who shares the same nickname."

"Mouthful."

"Yeah. It's an obscure lyric he found in an obscure song by an obscure band."

"Sigur Rós?"

"You know?"

"Not as obscure as you might think." RJ speeds through a yellow light just as it turns red. "He never told me his name. Has he always been a private guy?"

"Not… really," she answers hesitantly. Amanda herself is not sure of that answer herself. "He's more… cautious than private. Once he´s comfortable around you he´ll slowly start opening, though it took him _months_ to open up to me."

"So he's a private guy."

"…Yeah, basically."

The car is filled with silence once more. She gazes outside through the window and watches as the trees pass by with incredible speed. She crosses her arms on her chest and squeezes her upper arms.

What would be the first thing she says when she meet Rem after a long time? She doesn't know what to say to him. Should she tell him that she had been looking for him since his missing? Should she be angry with him for disappearing? Or should she just not say anything?

What should she say to him?

_**BEEP! BEEP!**_

Amanda grunts in startle when the car suddenly jerks forward (luckily the seat belt had prevented her from banging her head on the dashboard). She looks around in confusion before turning her head to RJ for explanation.

"Speed trap around this area of the road," he answers as he silences his beeping phone. She suspects he had set up some sort of an alarm to warn him. The car slows down significantly. "Sorry for the suddenly braking. While I do love high speed, I would want to reduce the chances of a police chase."

She sighs in relief, seeing nothing is wrong. She did muse herself at the irony of his words, considering what he had said earlier.

"I know I should expect something surprising about him but I didn't expect he has a sister looking for him." Amanda jolts at the claim.

"I-I'm not… I'm not his… sister," she stutters while quickly shaking her head in denial. RJ lightly snorts.

"Could've fooled me," he mutter's under his breath but loud enough for her to hear. "How long have you been looking for him?"

"…Two years," she answers breathlessly. She couldn't even believe her own answer, just realizing it had been that long. "I'm barely home and missed both of my birthdays for him."

"Has anyone helped you in this?"

"My fiancé had traveled with me a while ago but his parents need him at the moment. A few friends of mine had done the research and had been spreading online posters ever since until now."

"Now that had been answered, there's the second question: Why?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Why do you go this far for a man who has no relation to you?"

"He's…" Her throat feels dry. She swallows before continuing. "He's family. I'd just lost my father; I'm not losing another one."

"Funny how you said earlier that you're not related to him in any way."

"Family doesn't have to be blood related." He snorts again, but this time he has a small satisfied smile on his face. The car gradually begins to speed up.

"We're almost there, not much longer now."

"I hope we're not too late," Amanda adds quietly, returning her gaze to outside.

This has been the closest she had gotten to Rem. She wouldn't forgive herself if she is just a _second_ too late to catch up to him.

A thought suddenly pops into her mind. She turns back to face RJ.

"Can I borrow your phone? I forgot to charge mine."

"Informing your family of your whereabouts?"

"Yeah."

"Sure"

"Thanks," she grabs his phone that is sitting in the cup holder. "Uhh… Password?"

"30121997."

"You're giving away your password that easily, huh?"

"I've got nothing to hide beside questionable fried memes. Besides, the chances of us ever crossing roads again are very slim."

She couldn't argue with him on that. She dials the first number comes to mind and puts the phone to her ear. The line instantly disconnect after the second ring. She frowns in confusion before dials the second number.

She meets with the same fate as the previous one. She grumbles, cursing the phone under her breath and dials the third number. If this doesn't go through she might chuck the phone out the window, even if it's not hers.

"_Uh… Hello?" _A familiar voice rings through the phone. She sighs in relief.

"Hey Heather."

"_Astrid?"_

"One and only."

"_I should've expected, since you're the one who's filing my contact number with foreign numbers."_

"Sorry about that."

"_Where are you now?"_

"Somewhere in Borneo. Brunei Darussalam?" She glances at RJ if she had pronounced it correctly. He nods his head.

"_The country with the recent controversy?"_ Heather asks in surprise. Amanda glances at RJ once more, seeing if he had heard that, and wonders if he is sensitive to the topic. He doesn't react.

"Yeah."

"_So he's there?"_

"Possibly. An acquaintance of mine said he met him." She hears Heather sighs in relief, but she could feel the tiredness hiding underneath it. Heather is very close to the breaking point, very close to give up on the search on Rem. She squeezes the hand that holds the phone and bites her lips.

She had told Heather that she could stop looking for Rem. She had told her multiple times for the past two years. Not just Heather but Henry, Cathy, Fredrick and the rest also, including her mom. She wouldn't mind to do this alone.

They hadn't given up, yet. They are very close to, but not yet.

"_Have you called your mom and Hiccup yet?"_

"No, I can't seem to contact them for some reason."

"The local reception service can be an ass sometimes, blocking some international numbers for whatever the reasons," RJ intervenes the conversation while still keeping his eyes on the road. "Well, most of the times," he amends shortly after. Amanda hums in reply.

"_Are you sure to trust the source?" _Heather asks doubtfully.

"He described Rem to a tee, right down to the eyes and silent judgement."

"_Okay…" _Heather answers hesitantly. Amanda sighs understanding her hesitation.

"Just trust me on this one, Heather."

"_You had said that the last fifty times, Astrid. Yet he's not there. I don't know Rem as much as you do, but I know that if he doesn't want to be found he won't be found."_

"I know." She squeezes the phone once more. "I _know_. But I'm not letting him go that easily. I had lost two, I will not lose another." She hears Heather sighs in defeat.

"_Gosh you're almost as stubborn as Stoick."_

"Not Hiccup?"

"_You can bend him to your will whenever you want. It cancels out with his stubbornness issue."_

"We're here," RJ announces as they arrived at a modest bungalow. She hadn't realized they were out from the highway and in a rural area.

"I got to go. Pass Hiccup my love."

"_You better be home quick or I'm stealing him from you."_

"Don't you dare, Ice Queen." She hears Heather cackles before she hangs up the phone.

He parks the car and turns off the engine before they quickly exits the vehicle. RJ unlocks the front door and didn't bother to invite Amanda in as she's already on his heels.

Her heart beats faster than normal, feeling very anxious. She's still thinking what should she says to Rem. They stop right in the living room, where the person Amanda had been searching for stands silently.

"Rem…" the name leaves her lips as a breathless whisper. The said man has his lips slightly agape as his eyes lock onto hers.

* * *

**A slightly weird cameo but okay**


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

…

"_Untitled #6 – ( )"_

Nobody moved. Amanda and Rem locked eyes. She couldn't tell what is RJ doing, he's outside of her field of view. She feels breathless at the sight of Rem in person for the first time in two years.

His attire had barely changed. In fact, it is still the same clothing as two years ago, complete with tears and holes from the crash. Surprisingly, it is clean. Rem must have used an entire bottle of bleach to make it so.

The pictures of him throughout the internet are much like Bigfoot: rare and blurry, and she wasn't sure if they are real or not. It is pretty ironic as Rem is a very individual person and very distinct, but so does Bigfoot.

Her eyes trail to his left sleeve, at its armless sleeve. It tore right around the upper arm area. It reminds her of the reason of his disappearance, and her loss.

The green scarf is nowhere to be found.

"I'm heading out and grab myself a drink. Don't steal my stuff while I'm gone," RJ nonchalantly announces. "FAR!" His abrupt yell causes her to jump slightly.

"APA!" she hears a feminine voice somewhere inside the house. A young looking woman emerges, wearing scarf around her head - the norm around this country, a hijab or a variation of it, she thinks - and with a frown on her face.

"Lakas tah, sebelum ku tinggalkan kau," RJ says in what Amanda presumes is his mother's tongue. The young woman, shorter than Amanda but definitely taller than RJ, rolls her eyes before making her way to him. The young woman offers her a kind smile as she passes her, to which Amanda returns the smile back. The pair makes their way out the house, leaving her with Rem. She hears the car roars to life before it fades away.

The awkward tension in the room is incredibly high, the highest yet between her and Rem. Amanda advert her eyes to her surroundings.

The living room is pretty bare, a full set of furniture, a small table, a large photo collage stand and a medium sized television. There's also a guitar in the corner, but it looks larger and only has five strings.

She takes a long, deep breath before turning to Rem. He still has the stunned look on his face.

"How did you manage to get all around the world?"

"_**Illegal crossings, mainly."**_

"You went everywhere."

"_**I only went to two handfuls of countries."**_

"How did you ended up here?"

"_**I was hiding in the flatbed of a truck."**_

"It was that easy?"

"_**I had to sneak back out when I crossed the border without having the driver noticed."**_

"It must've been pretty hard."

"_**Not really, the driver had a pretty short attention span. And the border patrol of this country is mildly terrible."**_

Amanda opens her mouth but nothing comes to her mind anymore. She doesn't know what to add this talk that prolongs the inevitable, the confrontation. She has so many things to get out from Rem, but she doesn't know how to convey them into words. She can only stare at him.

"_**Why are you here?"**_ he starts, beyond surprised at seeing her. She's surprised that she still able to read the emotions buried behind them. She glares at him as her chest burns at the question.

"Dumbass, why do you think I am here?" she replies back with an accusing tone.

"_**Why are you here?" **_he repeats, this time she reads the grave behind those mismatched eyes.

"What else? I'm here for you."

"_**How did you find me so quickly?"**_

"Two years is not really that short of a time." At least, she doesn't feel it that long of time. She had been focused on searching for Rem that she doesn't think about time all that much. Two years felt like it had gone by with a snap of a finger. "What had you been up to these past two years?"

"_**Why?" **_he dismisses her question. _**"Why are you so stubborn to even let me go? Why would you not let me leave you behind?"**_

She clenches her fists and takes a deep breath. The burning in her chest grows hotter the more dumb questions Rem sprouting.

"I'm not letting you go that easily, Rem. You had gone once, and like last time I'm not letting you go for the second time, or third, or fourth or how many as it go."

"_**Why can you not just let me go-?" **_The way he phrases the question comes out weird, it sounds like he had stopped himself from saying something at the very last second.

He refuses to call her by her nickname.

"Did you hit your head between Berk and here?" she raises her voice. She could feel she's on the edge of breaking. "Those two years, _three years_, of the time we had spent together. Are you just going to forget those, dumbass?"

"_**You don't need me in your life anymore."**_

"Why? Because I'm just liability to you? A leftover for you to use to quench your lonely pathetic heart?"

"_**No…"**_

"Then tell me why do you think I don't need you in my life, damn it?"

"_**There are those who briefly enter your life and leave shortly after. I am merely one of those."**_

"Not to me you're not," she growls unhappily.

"_**Why are you so stubborn?"**_

"Why are _you_ so stubborn?" she turns the question back at him, pointing at him with an accusing finger. She's getting tired and angry really quick. "You're dead set on running away from your problems, like you always had."

"_**I do not run away from my problems all the time."**_

"Then _what_ are you doing right now?"

"_**You do not understand the stake at hand."**_

"Then _explain _it to me _clearly_, Rem."

"_**I had, yet you did not listen."**_

"No, you merely blame on something stupid, something _idiotic_." Either Rem is getting dumber or she hadn't realized he can be this frustrating.

"_**You do not want me in your life."**_

"Oh, contrary to your belief, I do _want_ you in my life."

_**"You already have the boy."**_

"HICCUP'S MY FUTURE!" Amanda screams, causing Rem to jolt in surprise. She could feel her cheeks are starting to stain, and Rem blinks in disbelief. Amanda beings to lose her composure as tears streak down her cheeks.

"You're my _present_," She says heartbreakingly. Words are getting a little tough to get through her lips. "I've lost my uncle years ago, and I've lost my father two years ago. I don't want to lose another member of my family."

_**"I am not a family member of yours," **_Rem quickly retorts, cringing in discomfort at her words. _**"I never had and never will be. Why would you ever think such ridiculous thought?"**_

"No, but you've _became_ a member of mine." She puts a fist to her chest to emphasize her words. "I've been holding off grieving for my dad just so I could find you because I've _accepted_ you. Even my mother _accepted_ you. Rem, please, come home."

When she notices Rem blinks at her last word of the sentence, almost flinching, she smiles softly. She's starting to get through him, probably, hopefully.

"Yes, _home_. To Berk. To _us_. You're no longer alone, Rem. You have _us_, now. You have Hiccup, you have Mom, you have Heather, and you have _me_. We're here for you now. You don't have to push us away."

_**"I have to,"**_ Rem retorts firmly, taking a step back to make a point. _**"If I do not, you will have similar fate like your father-"**_

"Because he's got too close to you? Because of your quote unquote "Curse"? Rem, that's just some crap you _believe_ in. It's not real; it's just a coincidence."

_**"A terrifying coincidence that hits a little too close to home."**_

"You're not _cursed_, Rem. Nobody dies because they'd got too close to you." Had she ever mention how much she hates his tight grip on being cursed? "If you're saying that my dad had gotten too close to you then look at my mom. She is _closer_ to you than my dad, growing attached to you, and she's expecting you to return home with me."

For the first time since her arrival, his dark brown eye softens as he takes a deep breath. She knows her words are sinking into his head.

"And look at _me_." She gestures towards herself, pounding her chest in emphasis. His eyes widen a tad, barely visible to any ordinary eyes, but a significant reaction to Amanda's.

"Out of everyone, you and I both know that _I_ am the closest to you. Out of everyone, I know about you the most. Out of everyone, I _know_ you the most. Yet here I am, still alive and demanding for you to return, to come home. I'm not _dead_ from your so-called "Curse"."

_**"Do not push your luck-"**_

"Rem, just... please, come home. To Mom. To us. You're no longer alone, Rem. You don't have to push us away anymore. Come back home. With Me. "

Amanda looks at him with teary hopeful eyes, a very rare moment where Amanda is not the Astrid everyone knows. But she doesn't care. She doesn't care anymore if she completely lose her fearless reputation, her incredible athletic skills or (what is left of her) intelligence.

Losing another family member is much worse.

"Everyone's waiting for you at home. We hadn't stopped searching for you since you disappeared. Please, Rem. Come home."

Rem has his eyebrows twitch, debating deeply with himself. Finally he sighs angrily while scowling. He turns around and storms away from her. He approaches a room before slamming the door behind him.

Amanda could not do anything but only watch.

What does that mean? She doesn't know what it means. The living room now filled with deafening silence. And as the silence stretches, her hope slowly leaves her. She bows her head and pushes the heel of her palms into her eyes.

Her tears fall once more as emotions overwhelm her. She hiccups, before she breaks down into sobs.

She feels like a failure. She feels like Rem had rejected her, rejecting her to come home. She had tried so much, so hard to find him. Two years of searching, all for naught. In the end, she got rejected.

She curses herself for being so hopeful. She should've known better, that Rem would not want to return. She had been so blind, so stubborn, so stupid. She-

_**SLAP!**_

Amanda tensed, frozen on her spot and her eyes snaps wide open on instinct. She snaps her head up.

Rem lowers his hand and he has a displeased look on his face. And right around his neck is a loosely wrapped green scarf he had treasured so much.

"_**So it took you two years and my absence for you to be this emotional. Who knew that you can actually grow?" **_He walks past her towards the front door. He opens it and turns towards her.

"_**Come on. You had said you want to go home, correct?" **_he asks, fidgeting the scarf with one hand, his only hand. She didn't respond, only gives him a hopeful look. He sighs and rolls his eyes. _**"Shall we go home together, Fawn?"**_

She couldn't hold back the smile and the tears even if she wanted to. She weeps once more, except this time, it is out of happiness. She tries to wipe the tears from her cheeks, but they keep falling.

"It doesn't take you long to decide, huh?" she asks between sniffs, still smiling away. Rem shrugs one shoulder lightly.

"_**Life is a little too simple to dwell on things too long," **_he answers philosophically. _**"You're also very stubborn and have a way to sway me into agreeing to you." **_He fidgets with the scarf again. _**"I am sorry, Fawn."**_

"For…?"

"_**Oh, you know about it all."**_

"For…?" she repeats. She wants to hear it from him. He sighs.

"_**I am sorry for disappearing, for putting you in on the pain for these past two years, for your-"**_

"Don't," she cuts him off the last second, raising a palm at him. "Don't apologize for Dad. It's not your fault that he had passed." Rem takes a deep breath. She could see that he is still feeling guilty about it. She'll work on it later on.

"_**Is there anything that I could do to make up these past two years?"**_

"Come home," she answers instantly. "Come home with me." He looks at her before blinking slowly and release a soft sigh.

"_**Yes, I shall," **_he answers. Her face breaks into a wider smile. She approaches him and then punches his side.

"That's for leaving and for the past two years," she told him sharply. Then, she throws her arms around his middle. "This is for returning home."

She could feel Rem wraps his arm around her awkwardly. He is still not quite comfortable with intimacy. As if on cue, a car appears and RJ steps out.

"You two done making up?"

"We are now."

"That's nice to hear." He says it without meaning it. Amanda hears a snort coming from the passenger side of the car. "The car is fueled up and ready to go; and I've booked the flight for the two of you. Don't mind the fuel but you two owe me some money for the flight."


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

…

"_Untitled #7 – ( )"_

Something is beeping, or at least, she thinks its beeping. It sounds so muffled. She can't entirely tell. There is a bright light shining, too bright. She could tell from behind her eyelids. And her eyes… no, not just her eyes; her entire body feels heavy. She couldn't even lift a finger.

What… happened?

Something… Something had happened. Her mind is cloudy; she couldn't think straight, but she knows something had happened.

The beeping sound seems getting clearer, and her mind less cloudy. She can finally move her eyes, although very slightly. Nonetheless, she forces them open, and the first thing that greets her is the blinding light that glares into her eyes.

The second thing that greets her is the constant slight pain on the left side of her chest, seemingly in a rhythm.

She groans and distinctly hears what she thinks is a chair screeching. She can't tell, her hearing keeps fading in and out.

"As…" she hears a faint voice. It sounds familiar. She opens her eyes again now they're adjusted to the glare. She turns to where she thinks the source of the voice came from. She's met a mop of auburn hair.

'_Hiccup,' _she instinctively thinks. It is not mistaken. She squints, trying to make her vision clearer. Something beyond Henry catches her attention.

Is that… and IV bag? What had actually happened? Why is there an IV bag hanging above her? If there's an IV bag there then… She rolls her eyes away from Henry and found the vital sign monitor, the source of the beeping.

She's in a hospital. What happened?

And why does this feel so _familiar_?

"Astrid!" she hears Henry cries out and feels his hand grasping hers. "You're finally, _finally_ awake. I never thought you would awake this soon."

"Hi…cup…"

"I'm here, Milady."

"Mom…?"

"She's on her way."

"Is she awake!?"

"Speak of the devil."

She manages to turn her head and sees her mother wheels herself into the room. Her mother is wheel-bounded. Somehow, she doesn't react as strongly as she should be.

"Wa… ter…" she croaks out. Linda quickly grabs a water bottle and quickly pours it into a nearby cup as Henry aids her to sit up properly. Then, Linda gently put the cup to her lips and Amanda gulps a few mouthfuls.

"What happened?" she immediately asks as soon as she finishes with the drink.

"You don't remember…?" Henry asks. She glares at him as much as she can in her current state. "Sorry, stupid question."

"No, I don't remember. Should I…" She trails off as a thought suddenly comes to her mind. "Where's Rem?"

All she received was silence from everyone in the room. She feels her heart sinks as her body grows cold as the silence stretches on.

"Mom? Hiccup? What's wrong? Where's Rem? Mom?"

Henry opens his mouth to speak but repeatedly halting his sentences. Seeing as he had given up, Linda decides to jump in. She wheels closer and gently holds her hand.

"Astrid, my little flower," she starts hesitantly. The hand tightens on hers. "You two got into a crash." Amanda frowns.

"We all did, Mom. Two years ago, right?" Linda sighs. Her shoulders sag even more than before as the sadness in her eyes doubles.

"That's… not the only one, dear." Now, Amanda frowns even more.

"What…?"

"Sleepy truck driver. The taxi driver survived, and Rem barely suffered from anything. You…" Linda pauses. She takes a deep breath and continues. "You took the brute force of it."

Amanda winces as she feels mild pain on her chest. She tries to ignore it as she gives her mother a dumbfounded look. Not the only crash? What does she mean…?

"The doctors said your heart was failing. And Rem…" Linda places her hand on Amanda's chest, right on where the mild pain is sourced. "He didn't even hesitate. He nearly strangled the doctors to do the transplant."

"Trans… plant?"

Things are slowly coming back to her. She was confusing the crash with the one two years ago. A T-bone, again, except this time she was directly in the line of fire.

Things are coming back to her now. A headache is starting to form.

.

"_How are you doing back there?" the young woman, named Far, asks as she looks to the backseat. Amanda gives a thumb-up while Rem shuffles around in his seat, looking mildly uncomfortable._

"_**It is a tight fit but I will manage." **__He shuffles a little bit more. __**"I also hate vehicles, as you should know."**_

"_He's fine," Amanda informs them as she turns back forward. RJ raises a questioning eyebrow through the rear view mirror._

"_I wonder how you manage to get that point across but I'm not going to question it." He then puts the vehicle in motion and moves away from the bungalow. "You guys are in a hurry home?"_

_Amanda turns around once more and gives Rem an inquiring look. He shrugs one shoulder and fidgets with his scarf. He looks double the uncomfortable._

"_**I want to get off this vehicle as soon as possible but safety is the utmost thing."**_

"_Quickly but safe," Amanda informs RJ. He nods._

_._

"_I'm surprised your passport is still valid."_

"_**That is because it is not."**_

"_Then…"_

"_**Do not ask."**_

.

"_**How… is everyone?" **__Rem starts hesitantly. She turns to him fully, giving all her attention to him._

"_Everyone's missing you. They hadn't stopped searching for you since you left."_

_Rem looks guilty. He looks down his lap silently. Then he looks up back at her._

"_**How are you?"**_

_She balls her hands into fists on her lap. Her eyes drift to his left sleeve. She touches it gently with a trembling hand._

"_I… had been suppressing it since day one." Rem gives her a concerning look (at least, as much of a concerning look Rem would give). "I had been too busy to find you that I pushed it aside and dwell on it later."_

_He takes a deep breath. His hand clenches into a fist before releasing a sigh and unclenches his hand._

"_**It will be a long flight," **__Rem says. She gives him a look, wondering if she's reading the hint correctly. She watches him as he looks around the seats before turning back to her. __**"There are enough children on the flight."**_

_This time, it's her time to take a deep breath and hold it. She's not mistaken. She did not misinterpret the hints. He had said it._

_He grabs the opened bag of peanuts and throws it over his head. She hears it hits something before multiple wails are heard. She leans into his side, both hands grips onto his sleeve tightly. She buries her faces into his shoulder as she feels his only arm wraps around her shoulders._

_Then, she let go._

.

_She hasn't released his sleeve ever since the flight. Even after they landed she's holding onto it with a vise-like grip, like holding onto a dog leash, or a child holding onto their mom's hand. She is still holding onto it as Rem waves for a taxi._

_The ride to her home – their home – is silent, mainly because she is looking out the window instead of into Rem's eyes since that is the only way he can communicate. That is until she feels her hand – still gripping on his sleeve – tugs. She turns to face him._

"_**Is it mildly concerning that I expect this place to change since my departure?"**_

"_That's just mean you're missing home." He looks mildly surprised at the revelation, his mouth slightly agapes. Then, he swallows._

"_**Possibly," **_he replies, looking uncertain but not rejecting. _**"It would be the first."**_

"_First to everything," she comments. "Starting today, you'll start a new life. With us, all of us." She watches him as he takes a deep breath and fidgets in his seat. He still looks uncomfortable. It'll be a long time for him to get used to it, but she'll take a lifetime to make it so._

_Seeing as Rem has nothing else to say, she returns back to gaze out the window._

_She only has a fraction of a second to see the truck coming directly at her._

.

"Rem…?" she whispers. One hand is pressing into her temple to combat the growing headache. "Rem is…"

"I'm so sorry, Astrid. I am so, very sorry."

Amanda lowers her hand and stares at Linda in disbelieve.

"Rem is…" She couldn't finish the sentence. Her mind is rejecting the fact. Every fiber in her body is desperately rejecting it even though she fully knows it.

Shakily, she pulls the neck of her hospital gown and looks down at her chest. There is a long row of snitches along her chest but her eyes are glued to her left chest.

It's almost scary how visible the slow rhythmic beating motion on her chest. It's almost as if her heart is a little too big for her body.

"When…"

"Two weeks ago." She releases her gown and releases a shaky breath.

"Two weeks…" she repeats breathlessly. She had been in a coma for two weeks. And she had missed Rem's… by two weeks. She feels a hand on her shoulder. She slowly looks up and meets a solemn looking Henry who sits down right next to her.

"Rem… He asked me to give this to you." He drops a small folded up note on her lap. "He wrote it right before the operation." She could feel her eyes starts to swell up. She grabs the note with a shaky hand.

"I just brought him home…"

"I'm sorry Astrid. You had tried so hard to bring him home."

She opens the small note hesitantly. Then, she lets out a heartbroken laugh when she read the note before it slowly changes to a heart shattering sobs. She presses her faces against the note as she feels Henry winds his arm around her shoulders.

"I just brought him home…"

It doesn't surprise her how she could already read the words _before_ the three words that scribbled on the small note.

_"If you are reading this, it would not take you a wild guess that I am already dead. You had already known from the book for how much I want to end my life. You had already known from the scars for how much I tried to end my life. Now I finally found a way to end my life, in a significantly better way. Finally, the Curse ends with me. Finally, no one will be taken from me. Finally, peace._

_My final words for you: thank you, deeply, for being there for me, for keeping my sanity, for bringing me back, For Me. Now, my heart will always be with you."_

She places one hand on her chest, over her heart, _his_ heart. She feels the strong pump of the heart over her chest. The last thing, the _only_ thing, he had left.

Amanda peaks at the note once more with teary eyes. The tears make it hard for her to read but she managed.

_So stop  
Complaining_

.

She slowly opens the door to her bedroom, and the first thing that greets her is the figurine on her table.

It is finished. Fredrick and Scott had found the perfect wood. She had carved it out perfectly. Rebecca and Trevor had made the perfect suit for it, perfectly fit like a glove. Heather and Cathy had found a matching top hat for it, same color and size as well. Henry had done its features perfectly, very minute to absolute no flaws.

All of their works, a thank you gift for Rem, are all for naught.

She didn't have a chance. It was supposed to be on _that_ day, two weeks ago when they finally came home. She would wrap it up in a gift box and present it to him. She was hoping to see the shocked look on his face.

She can't anymore.

She reaches out for Baron Humbert von Gikkingen with shaky hands. She brings it to her face, and she weeps once more into its wooden chest.

* * *

**:)**


	53. Chapter 53

Chapter 53

…

"_Untitled #8 – ( )"_

"You don't have to come all the way here from Brunei, RJ." The black haired man shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Well you sent the invitation. My bank account is now filled with dust but I wouldn't want to miss this. You still owe me the flight months ago." Amanda laughs softly.

"I'll pay you as soon as possible."

"Emphasis on soon there, Missy. I'm not planning on staying long. Or else my wife would whine all day."

"I'll pay extra, along with your return home."

"That's not necessary but I'll take it."

.

"Congratulation, Hiccup. You're now a married man."

"Who knew the runt of the litter is the first one to be married."

"I'm an only child, you know." Henry yelps when Trevor suddenly pulls him closer.

"Don't worry, H. You can let it all out to me." Trevor then proceeds to push Henry's face right into his braided hair. "Cry into my manly beard. It will be your last chance to do so before A snatches you away."

"Tuffnut, let… Go!" Henry pushes Trevor away from him and tries desperately to straighten the wrinkles on his clothes.

"How many Hiccstrid babies do you think will pop out?" Sean asks the group, leaning back in his chair as comfortable as possible. "I bet five."

"Four."

"Three."

"Two."

"We're not planning to have kids anytime soon, so don't keep your hopes up," Henry comments but they ignore him and continue on betting. He huffs tiredly; he doesn't know why he expects his friends to behave on his greatest day. It's more of a contrary, to be frank.

He scans the crowd, the people who attend his – and Amanda's – ceremony. It is quite a large party; most of them are Amanda's relatives. They are very enthusiastic that Amanda is tying the knot.

And speaking about Amanda, she is currently standing right in the middle of the floor, donned in her white gown. She looks like an angel, even the sun is shining down at her. Despite her serene look, Henry knows she is not as composed as to what is happening to her mind.

Amanda had recently lost a very meaningful person. The said person had requested to be cremated and spread his ash on a field somewhere deep in the forest. Henry hopes that tying the knot will help Amanda to move on. She had been grieving for so long now.

He suddenly frowns, noticing the look on her face and the fact that her lips are moving even though she is not talking to anyone.

"Astrid's looking a little lonely. I'll talk to her." Heather walks past him and he quickly reaches out and grasps her wrist. Heather gives him a questioning look, puzzled. He firmly shakes his head.

He releases her wrist. Heather looks back Amanda before giving him a confused look. Then, she walks away. He returns his gaze to Amanda. She tilts her head back to look up at something.

Her sapphire blue eyes are glassy and she has an expression on her face. Henry knows that look, and there is only one person in the entire universe who ever received that look.

.

_"Even when I'm dead, you're still a pain in the ass, Fawn."_

Amanda couldn't help but laughs softly.

"What? Can't a little sister call her beloved older brother to come to see her married?"

_"Yes, because I'm dead. And we're not even related."_

Amanda sighs softly. She had told him that he had become a close family member but didn't state specifically.

"No, but you've _became _my older brother."

_"Is there some faulty wiring in your brain or something to consider me that close to you? I'm pretty sure there are."_

"Oh wow, you're even meaner when you have your voice." Amanda gives him a mock-angry glare.

_"You seem softer the last time I met you. Does marriage really affect someone that much?"_

Amanda drops her glare and laughs softly for the second time, almost heartbreakingly. Slowly she places one of her silky gloved hands over her- no, HIS strongly beating heart.

"Have I told you how much I love you?"

_"Even if you did I wouldn't know what the words meant back then. Even if it only meant between... what's the word, siblings?"_

He is standing there, see-through, transparent. His posture is strong, like it always has. His arms are crossed over his chest, like they always are. His entire clothes are white, like they always are.

She must've gone crazy, but she doesn't care. He's here, that's all she cares.

"I love you enough to sacrifice my heart to save you," Amanda murmurs softly.

Her gift of the silky green scarf is there around his neck, like it always has, usually partially covering his face. Now it didn't, loose around his neck, revealing his face.

His handsome face.

There is no single scar on his face. There is no Glasgow smile on his face; his cheeks are scarless. His right ear is fully healed; no bullet wound. Both of his eyes are the same dark brown color behind his narrow glasses. He even have a full clean beard, not quite thick but not quite thin.

He smiles a bit, for the first time, and closes his brown eyes, making his feature even more handsome.

_"Coincidentally enough, it was when I sacrifice my heart to save you for me to realize that I finally know the meaning of "I love you"."_

His heart inside her chest skipped a beat at his words. Amanda fists her hand over her heart as tears threaten to fall.

"Is this goodbye?" she asks with trembling voice.

_"This is goodbye,"_ he affirms while nodding slightly. _"But this not farewell. One day, one day, we'll meet again."_ He smiles for the second time. At the thought of a reunion, Amanda smiles.

"I can't wait," she whispers as a lone tear streaks down her face. She quickly wipes it away. "You know, we had made a gift for you."

_"I saw."_ He looks to the side, to where the figurine stands alone on a pedestal. _"I love it."_

"He's meant to be with you. Now he's a bit lonely without you."

_"Don't worry. As time goes on he won't be. Just keep an eye on him when he's around the kids. Hm?"_ Rem looks behind him and quiets down. Then, he sighs and his face falls.

"What is it?" Amanda asks as Rem turns back to her.

"_It's time for me to go."_

"Already?"

_"Yes, Fawn."_ He and Amanda share a sad smile with the latter has another wave of tears threaten to fall.

"I guess this is the final goodbye?" Amanda whispers mournfully. Rem unexpectedly steps forward and envelops her in an embrace.

She couldn't feel him physically but she instantly feels warm hugging her. The dam broke and tears streak down her face. She stays still and closes her eyes, basking in his final embrace.

"_See you soon, Amanda "Astrid" Hofferson."_

Then, it's suddenly gone. She opens her eyes slowly. Rem is no longer with her. She looks up through the window, up to the sky, through the clouds.

If she looks hard enough, she could see Rem's disappearing back. His words hurt more than just sticks and stones. He is to go where no one goes. But they'll be together from afar.

"Astrid?" she hears Henry calling out. She turns to him as he puts a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "Are you okay?" he asks in concern. Amanda quickly wipes away the tears from her cheeks before giving him a warm smile.

"I'm okay now," she tells him earnestly. He doesn't say anything for a moment, looking deep into her eyes. Then, seemingly satisfied, he smiles back.

"I guess you finally said your goodbye?" he asks, and Amanda could hear the hesitance in his tone, trying to not sound crazy out of his mind. She giggles and leans into him.

"Yeah, I guess I did."

As she cuddles inside Henry (her husband!) she begins to thought about children, and what name would suit them.

_"If I find out that you have named your son "Hnýtur" or your daughter "Rembihnút" I will hunt you down and haunt you for the rest of your life."_

"Amanda? Milady, is something wrong?" Henry asks when his wife suddenly laughs softly.

"Oh nothing; just heard something funny."

Okay then. So what's next?"

"Our future."

* * *

**Fin**

**That is all folks. Thank you for reading this two years worth of work.**

**A little insight from the author about this fanfiction. The reason on why this story is born is that I want a significant character to die. I was planning to kill of Hiccup but many people wouldn't stop whining in my inbox and I feel like that would be a little too much. So I ended up with an OC since they are expandable. The reason I made this story so long is so because I want the OC to have an emotional attach to a character, this being Astrid.**

**It is a big risk on making an OC as the main character, it does not do well in the HTTYD fandom. I am pretty okay with it in the end.**

**A special thank you to CajunBear73 for staying with me entire through it and kind enough to leave a review on ever single chapter since day one. You am is MVP.**

**For now, take care  
**

**-Uncle RJ Kitten**


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